Best Of Me
by staywithmeBL
Summary: Gabriella is forced to live with her godparents, Jack and Marie Bolton, and their conceited son, Troy. The two clash, but can something more come from the tension? COMPLETE
1. The Start Of Something New

**Best Of Me**

_The Start of Something New_

Gabriella Montez stepped out of the cab, taking her bags with her and stood on the driveway of her new home. She looked it over, taking everything in. The house was immense. She could definitely say it was much bigger than any house she had ever lived in before. It was two stories, completely made out of brick. Even though the house already had a garage attached to it, she noticed another detached garage to the right. Behind it she could see a small portion of what looked to be a paved basketball court.

She stood there, not knowing what to do.

'Should I go up and knock?'

'Are they expecting me today?'

She tried to remember anything about the Boltons. Her mother had said they had been very close friends when she was little. Gabriella and her mother had lived in Albuquerque when Gabriella was born, but moved away when she was almost four. In that time, Gabriella's mother, Isabella, had become very close with the Bolton family. Isabella had often joked that their son, Troy, had been her first boyfriend.

Gabriella was angry with her mother. Even though she hated her mother moving her all of the country because of her job, she never expected this. Her mother's job had transferred her to somewhere in South Africa, and Isabella would not allow Gabriella to come with her. Her education was too important, and she didn't know how long she would be there. Gabriella had no living family, so her mother sent her to live with her godparents, Jack and Marie Bolton.

Gabriella's thoughts were shaken by a voice from behind her.

"So are you going to stand there all day?"

She turned around to see a boy with the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen.

"Excuse me?" she asked him.

"Well, seeing as how you've been standing there for almost ten minutes, I was starting to wonder if you were going to move at all."

Her face flushed, and she looked back towards the people. "So, do you know these people?"

"The Boltons?"

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah. They're pretty good people. The kid's pretty good at basketball, I hear. Pretty nice on the eyes, so watch out."

"His name's Troy, right?"

The boy smiled, but Gabriella didn't notice.

"Yep, that's right."

She turned to face him. "Well, Troy. I don't think I should have to worry about that."

Troy was embarrassed. "How did you know?"

"No guy would talk about another guy like that. And also the the fact that you have a basketball under your arm, there's a basketball court in the back yard, and you yourself said 'Troy' was good at basketball. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"You must be Gabriella."

"Yes, that's me. It's very nice to meet you, Troy."

"You too."

Troy was definitely in shock. His mother had told him all about Gabriella, and she was definitely not what he had expected. He had pictured some goofy girl with glasses and freckles, wiry red hair and a stack of books under her arm. Gabriella was, well, exactly the opposite. She had tanned skin, long flowing black hair that was slightly curled, and the face of an angel.

"So, uh, how 'bout we go inside?" Troy asked. He was still pretty embarrassed about what had happened. He had watched her looking at the house, and hadn't realized that this was the girl who would be living with his family. He thought he had pegged her right as another ditzy girl. Boy was he wrong. It looked like Gabriella was already living up to the reputation his mother had told him about.

"Sure. Could you help me with some of my bags?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Gabriella wanted to laugh at Troy's expression earlier. She had almost played along with him, but she knew that if she was going to live here, she had better make herself known somehow. She didn't want to be known as 'the girl who fell for Troy's stupid jokes.'

He was right, however. Gabriella couldn't help but stare when she first saw Troy. His light brown hair was short and spiked, and he looked really good in his wife beater and sweat pants. But Gabriella couldn't get past those stunning blue eyes.

She followed him up the drive and the walkway.

"Well, here's home sweet home." He said opening the door. As Gabriella stepped inside, she almost gasped. The foyer was lined with gray marble, and a gorgeous grand stair case.

'What is it my mother said these people did for a living?'

"Gabriella!" She heard a woman's voice come from down the hallway. As she appeared, she knew this was Troy's mother. Her mother had shown her a picture of Jack and Marie.

"Oh, look at how beautiful you've become!" Marie exclaimed as she pulled the girl into a hug.

"Thank you, Mrs. Bolton."

"Oh, Gabriella, call me Marie. Please."

"Okay."

"We're so excited to have you here, Gabriella. Let me show you to your room, I really hope you like how I decorated it for you."

"You didn't have to do that for me, Mrs. -Marie."

"Oh yes I did!"

Troy rolled his eyes as he followed them up the stairs with Gabriella's bags. Sometimes his mother could be a bit too much.

Gabriella noticed the rest of the house was as nice as the front part. Marie led her into a light purple room with a huge white canopy bed. The bed was decorated in purple and white as well. A desk sat on one side with a computer on top. There was a walk in closet with a built in shoe rack. Her favorite part, however, was the huge balcony that was at the far end of the room. She walked out onto it, and looked out at the back yard. She noticed that you could see farther out and see some of downtown Albuquerque. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen.

"So do you like it?" Marie asked.

Startled out of her thoughts, Gabriella smiled at her. "Yes, this is very nice Marie. Thank you."

"Well, we'll leave you alone for a while to get settled. Troy's room is right across the hallway, and ours is down the hall and to the left. There's a bathroom that you and Troy can share at the end of the hallway. The kitchen, dining room, living room, and den are downstairs, as well as another bathroom. If you need any help, just yell for one of us."

"Thank you. I will."

She waited for them to leave before she started to unpack. She looked around the room and her new home. She had no idea what was in store for her.

**A/N: **_I know this chapter is_ _short, but I just needed to get the beginning out before I start writing the main story. If you want to see Gabriella's view, look on my profile :) Please review!_


	2. Move Along

_You guys rock! 17 reviews for the first chapter? That's insane! Keep 'em coming! If you want to see Gabi's outfit I describe in this chapter, check out my profile. _

**Best Of Me**

_Move Along_

Gabriella spent the next few hours setting up her room as best as she could. She could only carry two bags with her, and the rest of her stuff would arrive tomorrow by U-Haul. She emptied one bag that was completely filled with clothes, and hung them in her closet. The other bag kept her make-up, curling and straightening irons, hair products, and other stuff like that. She neatly placed those items in the drawers and shelves of a beautiful antique vanity that had been placed in her room. As grateful as she was for the Bolton's trying to make her feel at home, everything about this was awkward to her. She missed her mother already, and this place didn't feel like home without her. Sitting down on the bed, Gabriella felt tears come to her eyes.

"Hey." She heard a voice behind her. Quickly, she wiped her eyes, and turned to see Troy standing in the doorway.

"Don't you knock." She tried to hide the fact she had just been crying, hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Uh, no."

"Well, from now on, do you think you could?"

"Okay. It's not like I'll be coming in here all the time, I'm just here to tell you dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"Oh, thanks."

She turned, and heard him close the door. If the fact that her mother wasn't here made it unhomely to her, Troy Bolton surely didn't help.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Gabriella sat at the Bolton's dinner table with a smile painted on her face. She didn't want them to think she was unhappy or ungrateful for being here. 

"I hope you like spaghetti, Gabriella." Marie said as she walked into the dining room, her arms filled with bowls of pasta and sauce. A giant bowl of salad had already been placed on the table, as well as a tray of bread sticks.

"Yes I do, thank you." Gabriella said politely.

"Who _doesn't_ like spaghetti, Mom?" Troy said sarcastically, earning a look from his mother.

"Dig in, everybody." Jack said, putting down his newspaper and setting it aside.

Immediately, Troy reached for the salad bowl, and handed it to Gabriella after he had served himself. Gabriella took the bowl, and all the other pieces of the meal as they came her way. Jack and Marie carried light conversation, and Troy piped in every so often, but Gabriella herself stayed quiet.

"So, Gabriella." Jack started. "I've already enrolled you at East High. Principal Matsui was very impressed with your transcripts and said you would be a great asset to our school."

Gabriella gave him a weird look, at the mention of "our."

Marie noticed this, and quickly explained. "Jack teaches Health and Physical Education at East High. He's also the coach of the state bound Wildcats." She smiled at her husband, and then at her son.

"Well, thank you for enrolling me Jack." Gabriella gave him a smile of gratitude.

"It was not a problem, Gabriella. Do you play any sports or other extra curricular activities?"

"Oh, no I don't. I just like to focus on my studies."

Troy let out a laugh, but Marie interrupted him.

"I think that's pretty admirable. Did you know that Troy is also a Junior?"

Both Gabriella and Troy glanced at each other.

"Yeah, I figured he was." Gabriella said, looking back at Jack. "My mother said we were about the same age."

"How is your mother? I miss her so much! We used to have so much fun."

"Oh, she's good. She said she would try calling me later, after I got the chance to settle in. You could talk to her if you'd like."

"Oh, I would really like that. Thank you!"

"Your welcome." Gabriella paused, and then looked at Jack. "What time does school start here?"

"It's starts at 8 am, but you must be in your homeroom by 7:55. I'm sorry to say you have Ms. Darbus for homeroom."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"My friend Chad thinks Ms. Darbus is from another planet." Troy laughed.

"I'm sure you could catch a ride with Troy tomorrow, Gabriella, and he could show you around." Marie offered.

"Mom!" Troy hissed at her from across the table. It was one thing to show Gabriella around, and it was even worse to show up with her in his car. Sure, she was definitely beautiful, but she was the new girl. Besides, from what his mother had already said, and from what she had said earlier, it didn't seem as if Gabriella would exactly _fit_ in with his group.

Gabriella noticed Troy's uneasiness. "That's okay, Marie. I'd like to walk, as long as someone tells me how to get there." She smiled.

Suddenly, Troy felt bad for what he had said. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad helping Gabriella out. But before he got the chance to apologize, he noticed Gabriella standing up.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be excused." She said, and picked up her plate after getting nods from both Jack and Marie. She carried it into the kitchen, placed it in the sink, and headed up to her room.

She entered her room and crashed onto her bed. "Please let this get better." She whispered to herself. Ten minutes later, Gabriella had dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Gabriella woke early the next morning. She looked outside and realized it was still dark outside. Glancing over at her clock, she realized it was 5:45 am. Forcing herself out of bed, she grabbed her robe and slipped it around her petite figure and stepped out into the hall. She was relieved to find that the bathroom she and Troy shared was empty, but she then figure he wouldn't be up for some time. _He_ didn't have to walk to school. 

She showered, and went back to her room. She searched through what clothes she had and found the outfit she had picked out to wear for her first day at East High. It consisted of a off white and navy blazer, a navy camisole, jean capris, and eyelet ballet flats.

After she had gotten dressed, she dried and curled her hair. She pulled it half back, securing it with a white ribbon. She applied light make-up to her eyes - just enough to make them stand out.

She turned when she heard a soft knock on the door, and saw Marie try to peek her head in. Gabriella knew Marie couldn't see Gabriella because of where the vanity sat in the room.

"Gabriella?" Marie whispered.

"I'm awake, Marie." Gabriella said stepping out so she could see her. "I was just finishing getting ready."

"Gabriella, you look beautiful. I'm sure you're going to hit it off well there."

"Thanks, Marie. I hope so. I wanted to get up early so I could get there on time. I don't want to be late on the first day."

"Gabriella, you really don't have to walk. I'm not sure what was into Troy last night, but I know he'd be happy to drive you to school."

"No, that's okay. I'd really like to walk." Gabriella lied through her teeth. She was very uncomfortable in the situation because even though she knew Marie was trying to be her "stand-in mother" Gabriella was having a hard time opening up to that. She couldn't talk to Marie like she could her mother, even if it was about small little things like this.

"Well, okay then." Marie reached into her pocket and handed Gabriella a piece of paper. "These are directions to the school. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes or so for you to get there, I would think."

"Thanks again, Marie."

"You are very welcome. I hope you have a great first day. I have to leave for work now, but there's stuff for breakfast downstairs. Bagels, cereal, toast, you name it – I'm sure it's down there. Please help yourself to anything and make yourself at home. Bye sweetie!"

"Okay. Have a good day Marie, bye."

Gabriella made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found a blueberry bagel and popped it into the toaster. After it was finished cooking, she coated it with cream cheese, grabbed a glass of milk, and sat down at the breakfast bar attached to the island.

Several minutes later Gabriella heard someone coming down the stairs. Her eyes widened as she looked up and saw Troy walking into the kitchen, wearing _only_ a pair of gym shorts.

She forced herself to look away, but felt her gaze kept rising to stare at his tanned skin and _extremely_ well toned body.

'Maybe there are some perks to living here.' She thought and smirked.

She looked at the clock and saw it was 7:20. She realized that she needed to leave now if she was going to make it and be early enough to get her schedule and find her way around.

Placing her plate and cup in the sink she grabbed her bag and began to head for the door.

"Bye Troy, see you at school." She called out, trying to sound cheery.

Troy had been too tired to even recognize someone else in the room, but looked up when she said his name. He opened his mouth to say 'bye' but something in his chest caught as he looked at her, making it hard to speak.

Gabriella continued on her way to the door, and didn't think twice about what happened.

Troy stood there stunned, rubbing the back of his head as he heard the door shut.

'Why couldn't I speak?'

* * *

Gabriella found that the walk to school had been somewhat refreshing. It had taken almost twenty minutes to get the school, and now she stood facing the large building known as East High. 

Gripping her bag tighter, she sighed.

"Welcome to East High Gabriella." She muttered.

* * *

**A/N:** _So there's chapter two! I hope you guys like it. Like I said earlier, you can check out Gabby's outfit on my profile. Please review!_


	3. Lightning Crashes

_so i've been awful and haven't updated in sooo long. but with school and work and vacation... i just haven't had the time. but things have slowed down so much and i promise i'll update at least once every couple of days on ALL of my stories. _

**Best Of Me**

_Lightning Crashes_

"Excuse you!" A very high prissy blonde hissed at Gabriella. "You are in my way."

Shyly, Gabriella slid to the side as the blonde strutted past. Her first day at East High had already gone sour. It had taken her nearly ten minutes just to find her locker, and now she was lost on her way to her homeroom class. And it seemed as if no one wanted to make this easy for her.

Gabriella caught her bearings and continued on her search to find her homeroom class. Luckily, she made it with five minutes to spare. She walked into the room and noticed it was decorated with pictures of Shakespeare and random stage props. She saw Troy was already in the room, sitting on a desk in the front of the room. He was across from a tall bushy haired boy, and they were surrounded by other boys and girls who appeared to be cheerleaders. Quietly, she slipped past him and made her way to the back of the room. She looked around her, taking in her surroundings. She noticed the rude blonde seated just outside of Troy's circle of friends. She then took her attention back to the room.

Obviously, Ms. Darbus was either some sort of theater freak or was the drama teacher. Gabriella guessed the latter one. She looked up and noticed a very eccentrically dressed elderly woman waltz through the door, her arms in the air as if she were floating. The teacher made her way to the desk, and picked up a sheet a paper and began attendance.

After she had finished, the teacher noticed there was a paper clipped to her attendance sheet. She squinted at it through her glasses, and then looked up.

"Gabriella Montez?" she called out.

Slowly, Gabriella raised her hand.

"That's me." She said softly.

"Welcome to East High."

A brunette to the left and a couple rows forward of Gabriella shifted to face her, her eyes wide, and then turned back around. Gabriella watched as the girl whispered something to a boy sitting next to her. Gabriella shrugged it off, and sat patiently waiting for homeroom to let out.

* * *

Troy had always hated homeroom. He found it pointless. Why sit in a classroom for ten minutes doing nothing? But today Troy hated it much worse. Ever since last night he had this awful feeling of guilt in his stomach, and it had only gotten worse after the events of the morning. He hadn't even noticed her in the kitchen, but his chest got tight when he finally realized she was there. And he had seen her face when she walked into the classroom. It was a mixture of nervousness, embarrassment, and just plain fear. He saw it turn to disgust when she saw him. And for some reason, that really bothered him.

* * *

The bell rang dismissing them all from homeroom. Troy was the first one out, and sat against the wall, and decided he would wait for Gabriella. Maybe he could help her around or at least apologize for being such a jerk before. He was startled when he saw Gabriella walk out with a brunette haired girl, her name was Taylor or something like that. He knew she was captain of the Scholastic Decathlon team, and that her group and his group would never be associated. He would just talk to Gabriella after next period when Taylor was gone.

* * *

"Are you THE Gabriella Montez?" Taylor asked Gabriella in the hallway. Neither had noticed Troy standing against the wall, and they continued to walk down the hallway.

Gabriella looked at Taylor dumbfounded.

"You know, the Gabriella Montez who led her school to three State Decathlon Championships?"

Gabriella's face lowered. "How do you know about that?" She said with a flat voice.

"Our Decathlon coach had an article about you on our bulletin board for weeks. You're like a hero to us."

"Great." Gabriella's voice was still flat. She really didn't want to get into this.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to force you to join the team."

Gabriella looked up, and smiled with a sigh of relief.

"Yet." Taylor said mischievously.

Once again, Gabriella's expression fell, and the girls continued to walk to their next class.

* * *

By lunch, Gabriella had calmed down immensely. Taylor had helped her find all of her classes. She had welcomed Gabriella as a friend, and let her sit with Taylor's circle of friends at lunch. Gabriella knew that they all wanted her on the Decathlon team, but they weren't pushing it, and she was grateful for that.

"So Gabriella, where did you move here from?" Taylor asked her, biting into a sandwich.

"I've lived all over the place, but I lived in California right before I moved here."

"What brings you to Albuquerque?"

"My mom got transferred to South Africa, and I couldn't go with her so I'm living here with my godparents."

"Do you know anyone here at East High?" A boy with glasses asked her.

"Oh, just my godparent's son." She said quietly. She knew for some reason that her living with Troy was going to be a big deal.

"Really? Who is it?" The boy asked.

"Troy Bolton."

"NO WAY!" Taylor said loudly.

"Yes, Taylor, way."

"You live with super-jock Troy Bolton?!?"

"Taylor, please be quiet. I really don't want this to be a big deal. I can't have people making a big deal about this. I don't want to draw attention to myself."

"I just think it's a real unfortunate situation for you." Taylor said lowering her voice.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Gabriella rolled her eyes and bit into her sandwich. They carried on throughout lunch about Gabriella's old school, and all of the towns she had previously lived in.

* * *

The rest of her day was very much like the first half –hectic, scary, and confusing. Of all the times Gabriella had moved and transferred schools, she still couldn't get used to the first day anywhere. Most of her classes were easy – Chemistry, Trigonometry, and English. It was the people that made it so rough. The blonde, Sharpay, or whatever Taylor had said her name was, had plowed through her at least two more times. Gabriella noticed she was always followed by a blonde haired boy who would always throw sympathetic glances at Gabriella when he passed. It was an understatement to say that Gabriella was glad when the final bell rang.

After gathering her things, Gabriella began her walk home. She had barely made it ten feet when Taylor came up beside her.

"My house is a block away from the Bolton's. Can I walk home with you?"

"Sounds great." Gabriella smiled genuinely. She counted her blessings for the fact that she had somebody who wanted to help her and befriend her. Being completely alone in this town with no family and nobody to talk to, Gabriella desperately needed a friend.

* * *

"So that's the chick who lives with you dude? The one with Taylor McKessie?" Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend since they were five years old, asked as they stood outside of the school.

"Yep, that's her. Her name's Gabriella, or something like that." Troy said, although he knew very well what Gabriella's name was.

"Man I'm sorry. Tough break." Chad said patting his friend on the back.

"Yeah. Let's get to practice before coach makes us run suicides for being late."

The two boys began to head back into the school. Troy looked over his shoulder one last time to look at the retreating figure behind him. He sighed and walked into the building.

* * *

That night Troy sat at his computer unable to write the paper over the Great Gatsby that had been assigned earlier that day. He wasn't sure why, but the Gabriella situation was eating at him. On his way to school that morning he thought maybe he could introduce her to his friends, and help her fit in at East High. He had even waited for her after homeroom. But that plan failed as a soon as Taylor took her under her wing. His friends would never allow Gabriella into their group after seeing her with Taylor. Their groups just didn't – well – mesh together. Troy didn't necessarily like things that way, but they were his boys and he wouldn't change that for the world. He could never go against them. And Troy _really_ liked being at the top of the social ladder.

For the next ten minutes, Troy sat lost in his thoughts, before he was startled by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Hey man, there's a killer party at this house in the country club. Can you manage to sneak out?"

"What time does is start?"

"Ten maybe. I was thinking we show up at eleven. So you comin'?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

"A party isn't a party without Troy Bolton. Tell me you'll be there."

"I said I'll try."

Troy hung up the phone and glanced at his computer. He had maybe finished a half of a page of his report. Once again he'd have to sweet talk Mrs. Wilkerson into giving him an extension. It was definitely a perk of being the all-star basketball player of East High. No teacher wanted to be the reason for the Wildcats' to lose their star player.

He got up and walked to the bathroom where showered and got dressed for the party. He combed and styled his hair and stepped out into the hallway. He stopped when he got to his door and looked across into Gabriella's room. She had glasses on and was squinting into a book, typing away at her computer. She had been at East High for one day, and she had already worked harder there than Troy ever had. It amazed him at how diligent she was with her school work. He turned away when the feeling of guilt rose up again. He went into his room and glanced at the clock – 10:15. He walked down the hallway again, and tapped slightly on his parents room.

"Hey guys, I'm going to Chad's to work on this English project." He said stepping into the room.

"Troy." His mother said sitting up. "It's past ten o'clock. It's too late."

"I know it's late Mom. But I need to get this finished."

"Why don't you ask Gabriella? I saw her working on an English project earlier."

"Dad, Chad and I really need to get this finished. Both of us. You don't want us to fail do you?"

"Marie, it's okay. Troy you can go now and finish your schoolwork."

Marie rolled her eyes. Basketball would always run this household. "Jack..."

"Troy is a good boy, Marie. He's going to work on a school project. We'd be bad parents to tell him no."

"Can I go then?" Troy said impatiently.

"Yes, but please go straight to Chad's and only Chad's. And try not to be too late."

"Okay, Mom. Bye." He said leaving before he even got a response. Within two minutes he was out the door and in his brand new Mazda 3 and on his way to pick up Chad, Zeke, and Jason.

* * *

Gabriella noticed the door slam, and looked up. She looked over to Troy's room and saw it was dark. She hadn't even noticed him leave. She was amazed he had already finished their English assignment.

Feeling a little daring, Gabriella tip-toed into his room. She turned on the light and glanced around. His walls were plastered with basketball memorabilia and framed pictures of games and pep rallies. There were shelves with trophies and pictures with Troy surrounded by flocks of smiling cheerleaders. She looked over at his computer and saw his word processor was still up. Curious, she looked at his project and was shocked to see he had only written two paragraphs.

"Does he even care about anything besides himself and basketball?" she whispered, her voice filled with disgust.

She walked out of the room, taking one last look before flicking off the lights. She paused for a second and then walked back into her own room.

* * *

Troy tip-toed into the house at two-thirty in the morning. Luckily, he hadn't been drinking – he was the designated driver tonight – and being stealthy wasn't a problem. He made his way up into his room and fell onto his bed. He sat up when he heard a crunch beneath him. He flicked on his bedside lamp and saw a paper on his bed. He picked it up and read the heading.

Symbolism in the Great Gatsby

by: Troy Bolton

He flipped through the typed five page report and looked up in disbelief. Who wrote this? He looked out into the hallway and suddenly realized-

Gabriella did.

* * *

The next morning, Troy woke up early (rather bitter from his lack of sleep) hoping to catch Gabriella. He saw her sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of milk.

"Gabriella, I need to talk to you."

"I'm sorry for going into your room." She said quickly and very coldly.

"It's fine. I wanted to you about this." He said holding up the paper.

"Oh. You're welcome."

"_I'm WELCOME?_ I didn't ask you to do this. I do not need your help!"

"No, Troy you don't. But I know what you'll do. You'll go and weasel your way out of this project or find some way to get an extension. It isn't fair to the rest of us who work hard and turn in things on time. You ruin academic integrity for the rest of us."

"So why did you do the paper for me then? Isn't that dishonest?"

"Yes. But maybe your friends will actually be inspired to turn in their own homework on time for once if their _all star player _did."

"But-" But before he could finish, Gabriella had already placed her cup in the sink and was out the door, leaving a very angry Troy.


	4. Let Me Fall

_let's see. i don't own anything in this story (except i do own Troy's car... booyah lol) and all that other disclaimer stuff._

_you can check out Troy's car, Gabi's outfit, and her swimsuit for this chapter all in my profile :) enjoy guys!_

**Best Of Me**

_Let Me Fall_

The next few days flew by for Troy and Gabriella. They both kept an icy front to each other, avoiding each other completely around the house. Even Jack and Marie Bolton could feel the tension at the dinner table and around their home. School was completely different, however. Troy, Chad, and the rest of their gang had picked up a ruthless regime of tormenting Gabriella and most of the Scholastic Decathlon team. No one had found out about the situation that had taken place between Gabriella and Troy a few days before, they all just assumed this was normal. When didn't the jocks harass the nerds?

Gabriella was on her way to school that Friday, and she was completely ready for this week to be over. She may have been a "freaky math girl" at all her other schools, but no one had ever treated her like this. She knew that writing Troy's paper was crossing the line, but the situation had infuriated her so much that she took things into her own hands. She never would have guessed things would have turned out like this. Not to mention she hated walking to school. Today, it was raining, and it was becoming a bit of a hassle for her to hold up the umbrella, hold onto her bag, and try to keep her body dry. Her shoes were already completely soaked. She watched in anger as Troy drove by in his car.

THAT was something else that drove Gabriella crazy. No matter what it was, Troy got whatever he wanted. Sure, Gabriella and her mother were always well-off, but they never took things for granted. Gabriella would have killed to have a car like Troy's. And it didn't matter who he was asking either. His parents, friends, teachers, even the principal let him do whatever he pleased. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted.

Ten minutes later Gabriella made it to school, the lower half of her body completely soaked. Her simple black flats were completely soaked, and her leggings were wet all the way up to her knees. Luckily, she had managed to keep her skirt and her white shirt dry. That would only add to her list of problems. She met up with Taylor after putting her stuff away in her locker, and they headed off to class, trying their best to avoid the sneers and comments coming from the basketball team.

* * *

A couple days ago, Troy was furious with Gabriella. She had gone way to far, and insulted him. And no body insulted Troy Bolton. So _he_ sought out revenge. _He _was the one who started the harassment of her and her friends. _He _was the one who made life hard for them. So why did _he_ feel so awful about it? Sure, he was still mad, but he couldn't shake this feeling in his heart. What was it about Gabriella that made him think about her all the time. He sat in his first period class trying to figure out how to shake his situation. 

'It's not like she means anything to me, right?'

'Why should I feel so bad about playing a few jokes on her?'

'She brought this on herself. I didn't ask her to write that paper.'

'She doesn't matter. She's just some stupid girl.'

'I don't even...'

His thoughts were shaken by the ringing of the bell, dismissing him from class.

"Dude, you alright?" Chad asked him as they made their way for the door.

"Yeah, just tired. Late night, that's all."

"Alright man, just shake it off before the big game tonight. We gotta keep our undefeated record strong." He said making a fist.

"Chad, when have you ever been unable to count on me for a game?" Troy said, a hint of cockiness in his voice. "I am, after all, your captain."

"That's what I wanna hear man!"

Troy punched fists with his friend before they parted and made his way to his locker. He glanced down the hallway and saw Gabriella at her locker surrounded by a few guys from the team. From what he could tell, they were laying it pretty heavy on her.

'Who cares? She deserves it.' He thought before closing his locker and making his way to English. He found his usual seat in the back of this class, and fell into a flirtatious conversation with one of the cheerleaders sitting next to him. His eyes shifted for a moment as Gabriella made her way into the classroom. She looked exhausted and weary, but incredibly hurt. He fell back into his conversation, shifting his eyes every so often to the brunette sitting alone in the front of room.

"Okay students!" Mrs. Wilkerson called out to the class. "I have your Great Gatsby papers graded. Please find yours out of the pile, and pass the stack on to the next student. You know the drill."

When Troy was handed the stack of papers, he flipped through until he found his paper. The letter "A" was marked in bright red at the top. Below it, the teacher had written a short com_ment. "Very impressive Troy. I hope to see more work like this from you." _

Reading this, Troy grew angrier. He crumpled up the paper, and shot into the waste bin like a basketball. He remembered now why exactly he was tormenting Gabriella.

* * *

Troy made his way home later that day after basketball practice completely exhausted. His father could really work them into the ground. He made his way up the stairs, heading for the shower, but was stopped by something unfamiliar. 

_It's October again  
__Leaves are coming down  
__One more year's come and gone  
__And nothing's changed at all  
__Wasn't I supposed to be someone  
__Who can face the things that I've been running from..._

Troy recognized the song immediately. Even though he would never admit to Chad or really anyone he hung around with, it was one of his favorites. He could faintly hear the voice of Bethany Joy Lenz in the background, but what struck him was the stronger voice coming from inside the room.. He was literally stunned by it. 'Is that Gabriella?' He stood against the wall in the hallway and continued to listen to her sing along. For a moment, Troy completely forgot that he was enemies with Gabriella.

_Let me feel, I don't care if I breakdown  
__Let me fall, even if I hit the ground  
__And if I...  
__Cry a little  
__Die a little  
_

_Let me feel, I don't care if I breakdown  
__Let me fall, even if I hit the ground  
__And if I...  
__Cry a little  
__Die a little  
__At least I know I lived, just a little...  
__  
I wanna be somebody  
__I wanna be somebody  
__I wanna be somebody  
__I wanna be somebody who can face the things that I've been running from_

_Let me feel, I don't care if I breakdown  
__Let me fall, even if I hit the ground  
__And if I  
__Cry a little  
__Die a little  
__At least I know I lived..._

_It's October again  
__Leaves are coming down  
__One more year's come and gone  
__And nothing's changed at all _

"Guess I saw you as a 'Fergie' or 'Avril Lavigne' kind of girl. Who would have thought you're actually into Bethany Joy Lenz. " He simply said, shifting his position to her doorway.

Gabriella jumped out of her computer chair and fell to the ground. She tried to catch her bearings and began to push herself up when she saw a hand out in front of her. She grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up onto her feet.

"Ho-how-how la-long where you listening?" She stuttered out.

"For quite a while." He smiled at her genuinely as he noticed her fearful expression grow worse. "You have an amazing voice."

Gabriella looked at him, shocked. Was Troy actually being nice to her?

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"No problem." He smiled again. "Why didn't you ever say anything about it?"

"I think this is the first real conversation we've actually had." She said said weakly. She was still shaken up from her fear and embarrassment.

"Good point. I guess I was just thinking you may have said something to my mom or something."

"No, and please don't tell anyone. It's one of my greatest fears - singing in front of people."

"Okay." He turned and began to walk out the door.

"Hey Troy?" Gabriella called after him.

"Yeah?" He turned to face her.

"How did _you_ know it was Bethany Joy Lenz?"

"Well, I guess we all have a secrets don't we?" He winked at her and walked out the door.

* * *

That night, Troy and the rest of his family set off to East High for their home game against the Smithsville Spartans. Marie Bolton had tried her hardest to get Gabriella to go watch Troy and Jack, but Gabriella declined every time she asked, insisting that she would rather stay home and rest and maybe catch up on some school work. 

After she was sure that everyone had left, Gabriella changed into her swim suit and made her way out to the hot tub that rested on the edge of the Bolton's back porch. She leaned back into the seat and felt the most comfortable she had been since she moved to the Bolton's. Her thoughts shifted back to when Gabriella and her mother lived in New York City. It was definitely Gabriella's favorite house they had ever lived in. It was huge, equipped with everything a teenage girl might want. But most importantly, it had a hot tub and it was Gabriella's favorite place to relax and escape from the life surrounding her. The school she attended was like hell itself the people were so bad, and the people that her mother was friends with were even worse. And then there was Tony. Antonio William Masters III was Isabella's (Gabriella's mother) boyfriend. According to Isabella, Tony was a good responsible man. And sure, Gabriella would admit, he had some nice aspects to him. He was a doctor who worked at a hospital in central New York City. He was very wealthy, had a nice house with very nice things. He had a membership to a prestige country club where Gabriella and her mother were welcome at whenever they felt like it. But that was all the good Gabriella saw in Tony, and she knew that none of these "qualities" actually made Tony a better man. There was a side of Tony that only Gabriella saw, and it scared her. He had a terrible temper, and when you mixed that with his drinking habit, he could be quite a monster. He was always grabbing a Gabriella and making passes at her behind closed doors. But as soon as her mother or his preppy country club friends were around he would talk about how much of a loser Gabriella was in school, and how she was completely hideous. He went on and on about how no guy would ever be interested in her and she might as well go become a nun. As much as she hated Tony, her mother was just as bad when Tony was around. All of that changed when Tony and Isabella ended things when Gabriella and Isabella had to move to Florida. Gabriella's mother went back to the kind, gentle hearted person Gabriella had always known, and had been that way ever since. Gabriella had long forgiven her mother, but she could never forgive Tony. Especially after that one time where he...

"Mind if I join you?" Gabriella was shaken out of her thoughts by a masculine voice and looked up to see Troy approaching the hot tub.

"Uh no." She said, her voice shaky. She was still pretty startled by his appearance. She watched as Troy walked up the steps into the tub, and she tried her hardest not to stare as he did so. As much as Troy annoyed her, she could never deny that he was flat out gorgeous.

"You okay?" he asked as he sat down in the opposite corner. "You looked like you were in a daze when I walked out."

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking 'bout some stuff."

"Anything important?" He asked. Gabriella looked up and was surprised to see he was genuinely interested.

"Not really. Just about where I used to live and the people there."

"Oh, I see. I bet you miss it a lot."

"No, actually I don't miss most the places I lived. I miss my mom but that's about it. So, how did the game go?" She asked trying to change the subject. She was glad to see Troy being genuinely nice to her, but there was no way she was sharing anything about her previous homes, and especially Tony.

"Eh, we won. Same old, same old." He rolled his eyes as he said this.

"Shouldn't be at some victory party or something then? No party could be complete without the Wildcats superstar." She said with a giggle.

Troy smiled, happy to hear her giggle. There was something very innocent whenever he heard Gabriella laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. I guess I didn't feel like being the Wildcat superstar tonight. So here I am... _with you._" Gabriella blushed at the way he said and looked at her when he said "with you."

"Well, as long as your reputation doesn't get jeopardized." She said playfully. "I wouldn't want it to be known that you were hanging out with that geeky Gabriella Montez girl."

Troy laughed at her comment, and splashed some water at her. "So why are you so afraid of singing?"

"I don't know. I just know that every time I've tried to sing in public I end up staring at the ceiling. I wish it wasn't like that. I love to sing."

'Yeah, me too.' He thought. "Well, you should give it a try. You have an amazing voice."

Gabriella blushed and began to thank him when a voice called out.

"TROY!" Marie called from the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Chad's on the phone, and your dad wants to go over the game with you."

"Okay Mom, I'll be right in." He looked back at Gabriella. "The Wildcat Superstar has been beckoned. Gabriella laughed and Troy wished he could stay and just listen to her laugh. It would definitely be more fun than game review with his dad or whatever Chad had to tell him. He stepped out of the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist. He began to walk away when he turned to face her.

"Thanks Gabi for letting me talk to you. It was nice just being, well Troy for once." He smiled at her, and turned to walk inside.

Gabriella felt her cheeks grow warm and her heartbeat grow faster and faster. She nestled back into her seat and smiled genuinely for the first time since she had moved to Albuquerque.


	5. Broken

**Best Of Me**

_Broken_

Troy walked down the halls of East High in somewhat of a daze. His weekend had been mostly uneventful – played hoops with Chad on Saturday and saw a movie with the team Sunday. (It was supposed to be some sort of "team – bonding" experience, or whatever his father said. Troy could have really cared less.) The entire weekend his thoughts kept flashing back to Friday night with Gabriella. It wasn't as if they had they greatest conversation, or one that was too incredibly long, but he felt as thought it was the realest conversation he had had in a really long time. And he couldn't explain what it was, but there was something about the way her face lit up when she was laughing or smiling that made his chest tighten. He couldn't shake that image from his head.

"Yo Troy! Wait up man!" He turned around to see Chad running up to him.

"He man, what's up?" Troy asked his best friend.

"Me and some of the guys were thinking 'bout having a game night tonight. Maybe some Madden, Halo, or some NCAA Football. Heck, we could even throw some Guitar Hero in there if you wanted." Chad laughed. "What do you think?"

Troy nodded to his friend as he stared down the hallway. "Yeah, sure. Sounds good."

"Sweet. Your house cool?"

Troy agreed knowing there wouldn't really be any other place they would hang out at. It was routine for them to come to his house. His basement living room had a large plasma screen TV, fully equipped sound system, and the room itself was completely round proof to the rest of the house so they could always be as loud as they wanted.

"Dude, you alright?" Chad asked his friend, directing his comment at the fact that Troy had been gazing down the hallway for the last five minutes. "You see some really hot chick down there or something?" He craned his neck in the direction Troy was looking and then looked back. "Cause I must be missing her."

"Nah, I'm just tired I guess.

"Alright, well see you later man." Chad patted his friend on the back and went back on his way. Troy finally made it to his locker but couldn't seem to stop thinking about Gabriella and Friday night. What was so special about it that made it unable for him to stop thinking about her? He realized that he needed to shake these thoughts, and fast. Getting close to Gabriella could only have bad consequences – consequences he wasn't quite sure he wanted to deal with.

He made his way to his English class and found his usual spot in the back of the room. Throughout the rest of class he tried his best to keep his gaze away from the petite brunette a couple rows ahead of him.

-

By lunchtime, Gabriella, Taylor, and all of their friends were about fed up with the harassment. After Troy, Chad, Zeke, Jason, and all the other Varsity players had started the torment, both the JV and Freshmen teams joined in as well as the cheerleaders and even the pep squad. So it didn't matter that Troy and his friends had pretty much stopped, everyone else just kept on like the world was ending. Gabriella couldn't seem to figure out how so many people could team together and be so awful to her and her friends when they didn't even know the reasons they were doing it in the first place.

"So Gabriella, how was your weekend?" Taylor asked. They were all trying their best to put the harassment behind them.

Gabriella softly smiled thinking back to her weekend. After Friday night, she had stayed in a comfortably happy mood that had lasted all the way until she walked through East High's doors this morning.

"It was nice. I didn't really do anything special, but overall it was nice. How about you? How was your weekend?:

"Oh, I spent Saturday night with my Grandma. She's all alone and hasn't been feeling great lately so I figured I'd spend some time with her. Even if she spends the entire time complaining about her health problems."

"Well, that was still very nice of you." Gabriella said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so." Taylor replied. Her eyes shifted behind Gabriella and her back stiffened. "Don't look now, we've got a pack of Barbie's headed our way."

Gabriella sighed and put her head in her hands. "Why won't they just leave us alone?"

"Hey Gabriella!" A shrill high pitched voice came from behind her.

Gabriella looked behind her and recognized, Lacey Masterson, a girl who she was told was head cheerleader, and had learned first hand was the biggest witch of them all.

"Hi Lacey." She said in a monotonous voice.

"So, I heard you live with Troy Bolton. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is." Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Uh, how does that work. Are you like adopted or related or something?"

"No, the Bolton's are my Godparents. My mom's out of the country on business, so they're taking care of me until she gets back. Simple as that."

"Oh, I see. Well, I like your, uh, shirt." She gave a fake smile.

Gabriella missed this and smiled genuinely back. "Thanks."

Lacey smiled again and began to walk away.

"So that was interesting." Taylor laughed. Gabriella began to laugh with her until they heard Lacey's voice behind them talking to who they assumed was another cheerleader.

"Can you actually believe she thought I was complimenting her?" Lacey's shrill voice laughed. "That shirt is hideous!"

"Don't you have one like it in blue?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, like last year! I cannot believe Troy has to live with her. How awful!" They both erupted in laughter and walked away.

Taylor looked at Gabriella. "Don't listen to them Gabs. They're just trying to bring us down."

Gabriella nodded softly, but Taylor could see tears in her eyes. "Will you excuse me?" She said softly,and grabbed her tray and quickly walked out of the cafeteria.

Taylor sat there for a moment watching her retreat. She couldn't help but think of how awful this must be for Gabriella, being new and all.

-

Troy inadvertently watched the scene taking place in the cafeteria. He knew very well that Lacey probably had nothing good to say to Gabriella, and this worried him. He knew it was about time that his group began to lay off of her and all of her friends. He sighed in relief as he saw Gabriella genuinely smile, and Lacey walk away. Why was he even worrying in the first place?

He sunk back in his chair and started listening to his friends. He made one last quick glance in Gabriella's direction and noticed she was gone, and Taylor was left there with a solemn look on her face. He looked around the cafeteria and Gabriella was no where to be found. Weird.

-

Gabriella had made her way to the girl's restroom where she recomposed herself. She would not let anyone see her cry. _**Ever**_. She was stronger than that, and they definitely did not deserve the satisfaction of seeing her upset.

She went about the rest of her day with her head held high. She was more than relieved when the final bell rang. She gathered her things and met Taylor outside where they began their walk home. Gabriella was going to Taylor's that evening to watch 'chick flicks' and eat ice cream. Taylor insisted that she come over, because she thought they both needed to have some fun.

Gabriella was even more grateful that for a few hours tonight she didn't have to sit uncomfortably in the Bolton household, and better yet, she wouldn't have to see Troy until later. After the day she had just endured, her warm thoughts toward Troy were long gone. It was his fault this was happening to her. Well, in reality, it was_ her_ fault, but he had definitely gone way over the top with all of this.

She tried her best to shake her bad thoughts, and prepared herself for a relaxing evening with her newest friend.

-

Troy walked up the stairs completely exhausted from practice. He headed straight for the shower hoping the hot water would relax his muscles. He undressed and stepped into the shower letting the water fall over his body washing away all the pain and stress he had endured that day.

Twenty minutes later, he stepped out and got dressed. He stepped out into the hallway and headed back downstairs, rubbing his hair with the towel as he did so. As he passed Gabriella's room, he noticed that it was completely empty. Making his way down the stairs he found his mother in the kitchen.

"Hey Mom. Where's Gabriella? She's not in her room."

"Oh, she left a message saying she would be at a friend's house tonight. Taylor or something like that. I think it's the Mckessie's daughter."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Did you need to tell her something, she left a phone number."

"No, I was just curious. That's all." He said taking a seat at the bar. "So some of the guys are coming over tonight, is that cool?"

"Well, as long as you aren't up too late, and if you're going to be loud please - "

"-stay downstairs in the living room. I know, Mom."

"Okay. Then it sounds good to me."

"Thanks, Mom." He slid off the stool and made his way back upstairs. He went into his room, locked the door and went to his closest. He opened it up and pulled out his prize possession- a Taylor Mahogany finished acoustic guitar. It was his only Christmas gift four years ago, and when Troy opened it up that morning he actually had tears in his eyes. Ever since then he had taught himself to play, and it became a secret obsession for him.

Adjusting the guitar strap on his shoulder, he sat on the bed and began to strum a few chords. He continued to play until he heard a knock at the door.

"Yo, Troy! Let us in!" He heard Chad's voice behind the door. He quickly (but gently) placed the guitar back in it's case, and then in the closet.

He walked over to the door and opened it up to see his three friends standing there.

"Dude, we've been standing here for like ten minutes. What were you doing?"

"Sorry I was just playing some music so I could try and escape from the parentals." He said with a whisper. All of his friends understood, knowing that Troy was often trying to escape his parents, especially his father.

His friends waited as Troy gathered up his gaming systems and equipment.

"Troy, is that Gabriella's room?" Chad asked with a devilish look in his eye.

"Yeah."

"Where's she?"

"I dunno. A friend's I think."

"Come on guys." Chad said and the three stepped into her room.

"Wait guys!" Troy called after them, but they didn't listen. He placed the equipment down in the hallway and followed them. "Guys, I could get into trouble for this!" He hissed at them.

"Dude, Troy relax. Your parents are totally content with their TV show, and Gabriella's not even here." Jason said as he looked at photographs sitting on Gabriella's dresser.

-

"No, Taylor. It's okay, I promise. We can do this again some other time. Go be with your grandmother. She needs you." Gabriella said and hugged her friend goodbye. She made her way out of her house and started on her way home.

-

Jason was still looking at different photographs and pictures throughout Gabriella's room. Troy's gaze glanced over to Zeke who was looking through Gabriella's drawers and then to Chad who was looking at the objects on her bed stand.

"Guys, I really think we should-"

But he never got to finish.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" All four boys turned to look behind Troy to see a wide eyed Gabriella.

"Gabriella, look-" Troy started.

"GET OUT NOW!" She screamed. Jason and Zeke just stood there, but Chad kept on going. He picked up a porcelain music box that was resting on Gabriella's night stand.

"Chad, I beg of you, please put that down." The anger that was in her voice was completely gone, and sadness and fear were the only things audible. Chad, however, found this slightly entertaining.

"Yo, Zeke catch!" He said tossing the music box. Zeke reacted too slow, and they all watched as the music box hit the ground and shattered into tiny pieces. Gabriella's face went completely horror stricken before she fell to the ground and began picking up pieces.

"No. No. No. NO! No... No.. Please..." She was begging.

Troy glared at his friends and silently ordered them to leave. After they all had left the room, Troy knelt by her side.

"Gabriella, I'm really sorry."

She didn't even look up. She just held pieces in her hands.

"Look, maybe we could take it to get fixed or something. Maybe we could find a new one."

She looked up at him and dropped the pieces. "It was from my Dad." She said softly and then began sobbing.

Troy's heart began overwhelmed with guilt. He knew from his mother that Gabriella's father had been killed by a drunk driver years ago. He put his arm around Gabriella. "I'm so so sorry."

She looked up again, her eyes bloodshot. "Please leave."

Troy nodded, and stood up. He walked out of the room and shut the door.

"I think you guys should go." He said to his friends, who all quickly nodded. Troy sat down against Gabriella's door and just listened to her sob. His heart would ache every time he heard her cry harder and just wished there was something he could do to make the pain go away.

Eventually, he heard the sobbing cease and he opened the door to see Gabriella laying on the floor. For a moment he thought she was asleep, but when he looked at her face he could see her eyes were wide open. It was as if she was in shock. He walked in and gently picked her up, and placed her on the bed. Placing a blanket over her, he began to walk out.

"I'm sorry Gabriella." He whispered, and then shut the door.

_

* * *

there you have it, how terribly sad is that? exactly. anyways. check out gabi's outfit, and troy's awesome guitar in my profile. :)_


	6. Everything That I Want

_hey guys, sorry this took so long. i've written this like, four times, but my comp sucks. i hope you enjoy it though. also, check out my new fic "the guardian" it's a troyella..._

* * *

**Best Of Me**

_Everything That I Want_

To say that Troy didn't sleep well that night was an understatement. He could hear Gabriella crying into the early hours of the morning, which racked his guilt even higher. But it wasn't even guilt he was feeling. Seeing Gabriella so upset made his heart ache, and he wished there was something he could do to take away all her pain.

He finally managed to get to sleep around four or five only to wake up two hours later. He pulled himself out of bed and made his way into the bathroom, and stood in the shower for a good half an hour hoping it drive the sleep from his body. He got out, pulled on a pair of sweats and a Wildcat hoodie. He didn't stop to brush his hair or put on cologne. He didn't even care if he shaved his face. Today he really didn't give a damn whether or not he was "Troy Bolton Superstar."

He made his way downstairs and met his mom in the kitchen. He looked around and saw that Gabriella wasn't there, as she usually was every morning.

"Hey, Mom, where's Gabriella?"

"Oh, she's sick. Poor girl, her nose was so stuffy and her eyes were swollen. I feel awful for her."

'Gee, thanks Mom. Make me feel even better.' Troy thought to himself.

"Oh, well I'm gonna head out. I'll see you after school. Bye Mom." And before Marie had any time to respond, Troy was out the door.

* * *

Troy went through the motions of the day, avoiding anyone and everyone as much as he could. Theminute basketball practice ended after school, Troy headed straight for his car and made his way home. 

Gabriella didn't come down for dinner that night, leaving Troy to wonder more and more if she really was okay. He sat there and poked at his pork chops and potatoes, excusing himself only minutes later saying he wasn't hungry.

He made his way to his room and pulled out the only thing that could take his mind off of the world, his guitar. He picked a few strings warming up his fingers, before falling into one of his favorite songs.

_We drive tonight  
__and you are by my side.  
__We're talking about our lives  
__like we've known each other forever  
__the time flies by__with the sound of your voice._

He sang the first few lines quietly. But the more he sang the more he thought of Gabriella, and the more heart he put into the song.

_I__t__'__s close to parad__ise  
__with the end surely near.  
__And if I__ could only stop the car  
__and __hold onto you__and never let go.  
__I'__ll __never let go.__A__s we round the corner  
__to your house__you turned to me and said,  
__"I'll__ be going through withdrawal of you  
__for__ this one night we have spent."_

_And __I__ want to speak these words  
__but __I__ guess __I'll__ just bite my tongue  
__and accept "someday, somehow"  
__as the words that we'll hang from._

As he neared the end of the song, Troy was playing this song as if it were for the entire world to hear. He wasn't sure why it reminded him of Gabriella so much, but it made the song even more special.

_A__nd __I__don't want to speak these words  
__'cause __I__ don't w__ant to make things any worse.  
__A__nd __I __don't want to speak these words,  
__'cause __I__ don't want to make thing__s any worse.  
__Why does tonight, have to end?  
__W__hy don't we hit restart  
__and__ pause it at our favorite parts?  
__We'll skip the goodbyes.  
__If __I__ had it my way  
__I__'d turn the car around and runaway  
__just you and __I_

Troy heard something shuffle by his door and looked up into two beautiful brown eyes. His heart stopped. How long had she been standing there listening? But before he could even say anything, Gabriella quickly dashed back into her room.

Troy let out a sigh. He placed his guitar back in it's case and laid down on his bed and within minutes, he was fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Troy discovered that once again, Gabriella was staying home "sick." He knew she'd eventually come out of her room, but would she ever forgive him? 

He made his way to school, once again trying to avoid anyone possible.

He sat in his fourth period English gazing over to the desk where Gabriella usually sat. She had only been gone two days and he missed her terribly. He needed to figure out something to make it up to her.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He shot his hand up in the air. "Excuse me, Miss Wilkerson?"

"Yes, Troy?" The teacher said annoyed.

"I feel sick; can I go to the nurse's office?"

"Fine, take your stuff with you. Read chapter eight in your book."

Troy nodded and grabbed his stuff, ignoring glances from Chad and the rest of the team, and made his way straight for the door. He went to the office and signed himself out and walked out to his car.

He made one quick stop at the grocery store before driving home.

* * *

Gabriella lay in the large bed in her room staring out at her balcony. She had never felt this alone before. Her mother was off in some other country, and she was stuck in this God awful place. And the event two days ago only made her realize how much she really did miss her dad. 

Maybe she could run away. Grab as much stuff as she could carry and just take out. Go find her grandparents, or join her mother wherever she was.

Her thoughts were shaken by a knock at the door. She looked at the door confused. Wasn't she supposed to be the only one here?

"Come in?" She half asked.

The door slowly opened, revealing Troy with three large bags.

"Troy, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Gabriella Montez, we are going to get you out of this room."

"Go away Troy. You should be in school."

"Just hear me out." He grabbed the first bag. "In bag number one, I have three movies. 'A Cinderella Story', 'Walk The Line,' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' In bag number two, I have deli meat, cheese, macaroni salad, and some soda. And, my favorite, in bag number three I have candy, jelly beans, gummy bears, and three pints of ice cream. So will you join me for a movie day?" Troy asked, giving his best puppy dog face.

Gabriella looked up at the boy standing in her door way, and for the first time in a while, she smiled. He had missed school to do this, for _her. _To make her feel better.

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

The two sat on the couch, in the middle of their second movie, Pirates of the Caribbean. Gabriella promised she was saving the chick flick for last. On the table there were two empty plates, two half eaten pints of ice cream and several candy wrappers.

Troy looked over at Gabriella as she let out a large yawn.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I haven't been sleeping well."

"Yeah, me neither." He took a pillow and placed it on his lap and patted it, signaling her to lie down. "Here." Gabriella stretched out and placed her head on his lap. She laid there for a moment, waiting for the awkwardness to settle in, but she was surprised when it never did. She felt Troy throw a blanket over her, and she rolled over so she was looking straight up at him.

"Why don't you tell anyone about your music?"

"Cause there's nothing to tell.""

"Troy, what I saw yesterday was amazing. You shouldn't hide that."

"Well, I can say the same about you, you know that right?""

Okay, well I can understand if you don't want to tell anyone. I just wanted you to know, you're so good."

"Thanks, Brie."

Gabriella smiled at the nickname, and rolled back over. She couldn't remember a time where she felt more comfortable than she did at that moment.

Ten minutes or so later, Troy looked down to find Gabriella fast asleep. Carefully, he moved out from under her and picked her up bridal style, and carried her to her room. He carefully placed her on her bed, and wrapped the blankets around her.

He began to walk away when he heard her voice

"Thank you Troy, for everything today."

"You're welcome, Brie."

"Hey Troy." She said cuausing him to turn around again. "I forgive you." And with that she closed her eyes and rolled over.

Walking out, Troy smiled. She forgave him.

* * *

_please review! don't forget to check out my new story "The Guardian"_


	7. Crash And Burn

_HEY LOOK! I'm updating. I suck, and you guys rock. I'm sorry. Now that things at work are finally slowing down, hopefully I'll be able to pump out some more chapters. I've already started the next one. But this one's super long so I want lots of reviews :) Enjoy! Review!_

* * *

**Best Of Me**

_Crash and Burn_

Troy sat in his room playing his guitar when he heard his mother yelling up the stairs.

"Troy! Troy Alexander Bolton!!"

Tonight was the annual country club dance, and his mother always turned into some sort of evil, stressed out monster.

"Yes?" Troy said emerging at the top of the stairs.

"Your father and I are leaving now. Please tell me you found something to wear. I will not allow you to go in your sweatpants Troy!"

Troy smiled, contemplating the idea.

"Troy listen to me!"

"Yes, Mom, I have something to wear."

"Thank you. Promise me you will not be late."

"I promise Mom. Chad is on his way over now, and I just talked to Zeke and Jason, who are also on their way over."

"Okay, thank you. I'll see you at the party."

"Wait, Mom. Where's Gabriella?"

"She's over at Taylor's getting ready."

"Oh okay. See ya later Mom."

Inwardly, Marie Bolton smiled. She had been having a heck of a time watching Troy and Gabriella ignore their 'feelings' for one another. Not that she was sure she wanted that or not. She wasn't sure how well that would go over having both of them under one roof. But she did know that Gabriella was a sweet and genuine person, and was definitely a lot different than m most of the girls that always stopped by to see Troy. But even Troy was different when it came to Gabriella, a change that Marie liked in her son. He was nicer around the house, and more interested in school. He even spent more time at home, which relieved Marie. She had had countless nights where she stayed awake, praying her son was okay. She would always fear the worse, it was the nurse in her. Drinking and driving, drugs, fighting. She knew what teenagers did, she saw them every day on the operating table. But Marie would also never allow herself to become the crazy overprotective mother she had to endure as a kid. Besides, Troy got enough pressure from his father as it was.

Grabbing her purse, Marie slipped on her shoes and opened the front door to leave. She stopped and yelled out, "Bye Troy!"

Yelling down from his room, she could faintly hear his reply. "Bye Mom! See you at the party!"

'Wow.' She thought. 'A response!'

Yes, Marie Bolton definitely liked having Gabriella Montez around.

* * *

Troy sat in his room straightening his tie and shirt. He had decided on wearing dark jeans, a dress shirt, tie, and a gray vest. It wasn't over the top formal, but it did get him out of wearing a stuffy uncomfortable suit. Besides, he knew he looked good, and _secretly_ he wanted to look good for Gabriella. 

He couldn't wait to see what she looked like tonight. Sure, Troy always thought she was beautiful, but he knew she was going to look stunning tonight and he was anxious to see her. But that, of course, was also a secret.

He wasn't quite sure what to do about the whole Gabriella situation. In the past few weeks, he had grown to like her a lot. He found himself taking routes to class that would pass by her locker or allow him to see her in the hallways. He stayed home a lot more, opting to watching movies with her and his parents over playing beer-pong at the weekly party. He knew his friends noticed a change, but not great enough to actually start questioning him.

Troy also found more time to play music instead of always playing basketball with the guys. He was even _attempting_ to read the currently assigned reading material for his English class, _The Picture of Dorian Gray._ The strange thing was, he was actually kind of enjoying it.

But what he liked most was that feeling he got in his chest every time Gabriella would smile or look his way. That feeling was entirely new to Troy. He had had plenty of girlfriends who he ended up dumping after a week or so. But he hadn't ever felt what he felt when he was with Gabriella before.

But the devil on his shoulder kept telling him she wasn't worth losing it all. His friends, his stardom and reputation at East High. It kept saying that one girl was not worth the sacrifice of all that, and she would sacrifice it.

And while his consciences continued to battle out, Troy felt more and more confused.

"Dude!" Troy heard Chad say, snapping his fingers in Troy's face. "What is with you?" We've been waiting for like ten minutes."

"Seriously?" Troy asked.

"Dude, check your phone."

Sure enough, there were four missed calls and seven text messages. "Sorry man, I guess I sorta zoned out."

"Yeah, no kidding. Let's get going. I'm hooking up with a real hottie tonight."

"Who?" Troy asked descending the stairs.

"Don't know yet, but I'm gonna find out soon." Chad said wiggling his eyebrows.

When Chad and Troy made it down stairs, Troy got a chance to collect his surroundings, and burst out into laughter.

"Gee guys." He smiled. "Those are some nice suits!"

"Shut up Troy. Not everyone can pull off that preppy boy look you got going on." Jason said defensively.

Troy tried hard to stifle his laughs, but had a hard time. "Come on guys, let's get going." He said through his laughter.

The four piled into Troy's sporty car, and made way for the country club.

* * *

"So?" A shrill voice came out of Taylor's bathroom. "Which did you like better? The red or the blue?" 

"The blue!" Both Taylor and Gabriella called out.

"I cannot believe you invited her!" Taylor hissed under her breath.

"It wasn't like I said 'Hey, Sharpay, wanna come?' She asked where I was getting ready , so when I said your house, she said she'd love to come. Never did I invite her over." Gabriella answered, all the emotion drained from her face. Sharpay had tried on at least twenty dresses, not leaving any space for either of them to get ready as well.

"Why do you think she wanted to come here anyways?" Taylor whispered. "You would think that she has an enormous bathroom with full length mirrors and studio lighting."

"Yeah, beats me. Can I at least _see_ your dress. We may be here all night, who knows if you'll get to wear it." Gabriella joked.

Taylor rolled her eyes, but then jumped up excitedly. "Gabriella, it's sooooo pretty."

She had already told Gabriella all about going shopping for the dress with her mom and how much fun they had. Gabriella smiled and listened intently, but she couldn't help but feel jealous of Taylor. She didn't get to go buy a new dress, but more so, she didn't have mother around to go shopping with to get one.

Taylor pulled her dress out of the garment bag and held it up to her body.

"Whaddya think?!?" She asked.

"Taylor, it's beautiful." Gabriella said honestly. It _was_ beautiful. Gabriella knew that every girl at the dance would be wearing a new and fancy dress. She just hoped hers good enough. Every single one of Sharpay's dresses must have cost a fortune by the looks of them, and Taylor's dress was definitely not cheap. Gabriella began to grow slightly self conscious. She had already been humiliated enough at East High, she couldn't bear it if she got harassed tonight. The dress she was wearing was several years old, she was going to wear to it to her Mother's wedding to Tony. Thank god she never had to actually wear it.

"Taylor!" The both turned to see Sharpay come out of the bathroom in a pink sequined dress that reminded her of a story she read when she was a kid where a fish had one sparkly scale.

"Taylor, that dress is just divine!"

"What happened to the blue one?" Taylor whispered to Gabriella, causing her to laugh.

"Hey Taylor, why don't you go get ready?" Gabriella suggested.

"I'll be quick, I promise." Taylor said glancing at the clock.

"It's cool. I'll start on my make-up out here." Gabriella said, grabbing her make-up bag out of her duffel bag.

After Taylor had gone into the bathroom, Gabriella adjusted herself in front of Taylor's vanity while Sharpay sat on the bed.

"I wanted to thank you Gabriella."

"For what?" Gabriella asked, carefully applying mascara to her top eyelashes.

"For inviting me to hang out with you and Taylor today. No one ever asks me to come over, and it's not much fun doing all this girly stuff with Ryan."

Guilt rushed through Gabriella as she listened to Sharpay explain. 'That's why she came over.' She thought. She made a decision then and there that she would try her hardest to become friends with Sharpay. Everyone needed friends, Gabriella of all people knew that.

They continued light conversation, allowing Gabriella to discover that even though Sharpay hadn't realized it, Sharpay had a major crush on Zeke Baylor.

She finished up her make-up and began to play with her hair. She played with different styles until Taylor came out of the bathroom, looking amazing.

Quickly, Gabriella made her way in and put her hair into a set of curlers. She pulled back the curly tendrils, securing them with bobby pins, allowing some to fall down in her face. When she was completely satisfied with her messy up do, she put on her dress and jewelry. Slipping on her strappy shoes, she stepped out into Taylor's bedroom. Taylor and Sharpay were currently engulfed in conversation, but both stopped when Gabriella walked out.

"Holy cow Gabi!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Oh god. Am I under dressed? Is this dress ugly? What's wrong?" Gabriella began to panic.

"There isn't anything wrong Gabi! You look amazing!" Sharpay said. "That dress is simply killer on you. I tell you what ladies, we'll be bringing home the hotties tonight!"

The last comment made Gabriella and Taylor break out in laughter.

"I told my driver to meet us as 5:30, so he should be out there now." Sharpay said peeking out the window.

"Driver?" Taylor mouthed to Gabriella.

"Yep! There he is!" Sharpay squealed. "Let's go!" She grabbed both their hands and pulled them out the door.

'At least being friends with her has nice perks.' Gabriella thought to herself.

* * *

Gabriella walked cautiously behind Taylor and Sharpay as they made their way into the country club. She was feeling every emotion possible - fear, nervousness, happiness, embarrassment. But most of all, she was excited. She couldn't wait to see everyone dressed up, especially Troy. Just thinking about him brought a smile to her face. 

The three walked into the building and gasped. It was incredibly beautiful, decorated in red and gold. A jazz quartet played in one of the corners and some couples had already started dancing. Gabriella immediately recognized the tune as "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan, one of her favorites.

"Let's sit over here." Sharpay said pointing to a table in the middle of the room. Walking over, Gabriella scanned the room. Troy wasn't here yet. Damn.

They took their seats and talked lightly about those still coming in. After about five minutes of the discussion, Gabriella lost interest in discussing every single outfit in the room and began to play with her napkins instead. Occasionally she would nod her head and say "uh huh' or "yeah" to the two gabbing girls seated with her, but for the most part she was utterly bored.

'Why did they have to be here so early?' she mused to herself.

Suddenly, something inside her made her look up, her eyes meeting with a pair electric blue ones across the room. Her stomach filled with butterflies, and she gazed into those amazing blue eyes for what seemed an eternity.

"Don't you think so too Gabi?" Sharpay asked her, breaking her from the stare.

"Huh? What?" She asked flustered.

"We were saying how inappropriate Lacey Masterson's dress is. Don't you agree?"

"Oh." She glanced at the girl. 'Ew.' She thought to herself. "Yes, I definitely agree."

Sharpay nodded and began to discuss the next person who walked in. Gabriella looked over to Troy who laughed, clearly witnessing the scene between her and Sharpay. She smiled at him, but he was pulled away by his friends.

'Damn!' She thought. 'Now _he_ looks good.'

* * *

The night passed on, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Every so often Troy would glance at Gabriella giving her a look or smile that sent shivers down her spine and made the butterflies in her stomach dance. 

Everyone was seated around seven for dinner, chicken Parmesan with salad and bread sticks. Besides Taylor, Sharpay, and Ryan, Gabriella didn't know anyone else at the table. There was a quiet girl seated next to Ryan named Kelsi, and someone named Martha sitting next to Taylor. From there she knew the kid with the glasses was Joe or John or something like that, and his brother next to him was Caleb.

Gabriella had a really hard time staying focused on the conversation being held at her table, which was currently discussing whether or not Sharpay should invest in a purple microphone to go with her blue, green and pink ones. Instead, Gabriella found herself drifting her gaze to the table in the far corner of the room. Gabriella knew she was being completely obvious, and frankly, she didn't care. Sure, there was a good chance she could get herself humiliated, but with the way Troy was looking back at her and the way he looked tonight, she just couldn't stop.

After dinner, several people from her table got up to dance. Gabriella laughed when she saw Sharpay trying to muster up the courage to ask Zeke to dance.

"Sharpay." She said from behind the blonde. "Go for it. What have you got to lose?"

"Mu dignity!" Sharpay whined.

"It's high school Shar. We all lose our dignity or get embarrassed at some point along the way. But take the risk, it could be very well worth it. Besides, I saw him looking at you too."

"Really?" Sharpay's eyes glistened with hope.

"Really. Go for it, Shar."

"Thanks, Gabi. I will." She said hugging her new friend.

"Oh God. Please don't let me have just fed her to the wolves." She whispered as Sharpay walked away. Gabriella made her way back to her table, which was completely deserted, and sat down. She watched as Sharpay approached Zeke, and felt relieved when he accepted her proposal.

Sitting there, Gabriella once again felt jealous. She wished she could have done what Sharpay had just done. But she wasn't Sharpay, who at least had _some_ popularity, and Zeke was definitely not superstar Troy. After all, what if Troy was just trying to be nice because of the incident with the music box? That very thought took away all hope from Gabriella. Dismayed, she sat alone at the table and began to play with her napkins, again.

She was startled when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"May I have this dance, Brie?"

She turned around to see Troy, looking gorgeous as ever, smiling down at her. "Or should I leave you and the napkins alone?"

If the butterflies were dancing before, Gabriella couldn't quite describe what they were doing now. How could one person do this to her every time?

"Of course you may." She smiled back at him.

She took ahold of his extended hand, and he led her out to the middle of the dance floor and placed his hands on her waist.

"I must say Brie, you're the most beautiful girl here tonight."

Gabriella looked down, and then smiled back up at him. "Thank you, Troy. You look pretty amazing yourself."

Troy smiled and slightly pulled her closer. It felt as if it were just the two of them in that entire room. Standing there with Gabriella, Troy forgot about friends, basketball, and his popularity. All his thoughts were focused on the beautiful brunette who's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck.

Across the room, Marie Bolton smiled at her son and best friend's daughter. She quickly snapped a photo of them, and returned to her husband.

"For the scrapbook." She told herself and smiled.

But Marie wasn't the only one watching. Chad Danforth stood surrounded by angry cheerleaders, watching the scene play out in front of him. Troy and Gabriella were laughing and carrying on. And Chad saw the look in Troy's eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to let _that_ happen. He now knew why Troy was acting different lately, he had been hanging out with _her_. Oh hell no.

"Lacey." He said to the blonde next to him. "I need your help."

She gave him a knowing look.

"Alright, here's the plan." Chad said into the huddle of girls.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella danced two more times that night and had become pretty much inseparable. They were currently sitting on one of the benches on the side of the room. 

Troy was absolutely mesmerized bu her. Her smile, her expressions. Every little thing she did. They talked about everything - music, school, parents, basketball. Troy was more than disappointed when Jason asked if he could help the guys with something.

Gabriella saw this chance to make her way to the ladies room. What she didn't know what that she was followed in.

She stood at the far mirror, reapplying her lip gloss when she heard a familiar, but unfavorable voice. She looked down to see Lacey Masterson and her flock of cheerleaders all huddled around one mirror.

"Guess who I'm hooking up with tonight?" She said with an evil tone. She waited for an answer from the girls surrounding her, and when there was none, she answered for them.

"Troy Bolton!" She said with a conceited tone. "You _know_ what that means."

"Lacey, you and Troy is old news." A tall brunette said, sounding rather fake to Gabriella's ears.

"Yeah, but let me tell you, Oh My God!"

All of the girls around her broke out into laughter.

"Yeah, he said he could't wait to come over tonight." Gabriella strained to listen to the rest as the group exited.

As soon as the had cleared, Gabriella stepped into one of the stalls and fought to hold back the tears. She stood there for almost ten minutes trying to recompose herself. As soon as she had, she made her way out only to find her favorite cheerleader all over Troy. Quickly, she found Taylor and explained that she felt sick and was going home.

* * *

Troy was growing sick of Lacey's attempts and passes, and finally just held his hand out and asked her to stop. 

As she sulked away, Troy scanned the crowd hoping to find Gabriella, but he couldn't place her.

"Dude, you coming to my place tonight?" Chad broke his thoughts.

"Uh, I don't think so tonight man."

"Dude, you never hand with us anymore. What's with you?" Chad knew if her laid on the guilt pretty thick, Troy would have no chance. In order to make Gabriella think Troy was with Lacey, he needed Troy to be at this place, and not at home.

"Yeah, I'll come. Just let me know when you're leaving."

"Will do buddy."

Troy knew if he wanted to spend any more time with Gabriella tonight, he'd better find her fast. He quickly made his way over to Taylor.

"Hey, Taylor." He said, almost putting the girl into shock. "Do you know where Gabriella went?"

"She went home. I guess she wasn't feeling well."

'That's weird.' He thought. 'She was fine earlier.'

"Thanks Taylor."

"Not a problem."

Troy was soon met by Chad who told him it was time to leave. Troy gathered his things, and the four guys left.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone fell asleep, Chad tip-toed through the room and found Troy's cell phone. Walking into the other room, he smiled.

* * *

Gabriella lay in bed sobbing. How could she be so stupid? Troy was never interested in her! He was only being nice. 

Her thoughts were shaken by a slight buzzing noise on her bed side table, and she sat up to see her phone lit up. She picked it up and saw she had received a text. She flipped it open and saw it was from Troy. Gabriella smiled, and opened the message.

_Look, I know you got a thing  
for me, and I'm sorry but I'm  
not interested. Please just leave  
me alone. You repulse me.  
xxxTroyxxx_

Gabriella through the phone and sobbed harder.

* * *

_You can check out Brie's, Taylor's, Sharpay's and even skanky Lacey's dresses, as well as Brie's hair and Troy's outift on my profile!_


	8. Covered In Rain

_Just because I've been horrible at updating.. I'm giving you guys a super long chapter, or maybe three long chapters. Thank you to everyone's support. It's been kinda rough these past few months. So thanks :)_

_

* * *

_

**Best Of Me**

_Covered in Rain_

_RECAP:_

_Later that night, after everyone fell asleep, Chad tip-toed through the room and found Troy's cell phone. Walking into the other room, he smiled. _

_Gabriella lay in bed sobbing. How could she be so stupid? Troy was never interested in her! He was only being nice. _

_Her thoughts were shaken by a slight buzzing noise on her bed side table, and she sat up to see her phone lit up. She picked it up and saw she had received a text. She flipped it open and saw it was from Troy. Gabriella smiled, and opened the message._

_Look, I know you got a thing  
for me, and I'm sorry but I'm  
not interested. Please just leave  
me alone. You repulse me.  
xxxTroyxxx_

_Gabriella through the phone and sobbed harder._

* * *

Early the next morning Troy woke up before all of his buddies, gathered his things, and left. He couldn't stop thinking of Gabriella all night. She was the first thing he thought of this morning and couldn't wait to go and spend the day with her. He even found himself refraining from skipping out to his car he was so happy.

He rolled down the windows and sunroof and turned up his radio as he made the short drive to his house. Damn, it was going to be a good day.

He pulled up the drive to his house, and several swift movements he was walking in the door and walking into the dining room where he found his mother, father, and Gabriella sitting down for breakfast.

"Good morning everyone!" He called out to them, patting his dad on the shoulders as he passed and stopping to kiss his mother on the cheek before sitting down. His parents exchanged confused looks, but before they could ask Troy spoke again.

"Did everyone enjoy the dance yesterday, cause I had an amazing time." He said smiling over at Gabriella who looked away in disgust. This unnerved Troy a bit, but he shook it off.

"I had a enjoyable time." His father said, and his mother agreed.

The three of them began light conversation, discussing the food, the band and other events from the night before. Gabriella just stared slightly behind Troy feeling as if she were going to vomit. She never really was good at being fake or hiding emotions.

"May I be excused?" She blurted out, interrupting the conversation taking place.

"But you haven't touched any of your food." Marie said looking concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Gabriella said flatly."I just suddenly feel sick." She said, glancing subtly at Troy, which didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Well, of course you may be excused then." Marie said kindly. "I hope you feel better. Seems you can't get rid of this bug you've got, can you honey?"

"No, it does seem that way. Please enjoy the rest of your breakfast." She said and walked up the stairs. She made her way into her room and fell onto her bed punching a pillow in anger. How was she going to be able to do this?

* * *

Downstairs the three of them glanced at each other before trying to pick up the conversation they were having with very little luck. Each one of them had drifted into their own thoughts, Troy's being mainly on why Gabriella was avoiding him. He knew deep down that she wasn't sick, but he couldn't figure out what had happened.

As they finished the rest of breakfast, Jack made his way into the living room and turned on the tv while Marie began to clean up. Troy helped her collect the dishes, something Marie hadn't witnessed for years, before going upstairs.

He knocked quietly on Gabriella's door and heard her mumble something about coming in. He slowly opened the door and looked in at her. She was still lying on the bed, hands clenched tight, staring at the ceiling.

"Are you okay, Brie?" he asked softly.

"Get the hell out. And my name is Gabriella. Not Brie."

Troy felt completely hurt and confused as to why she was acting this way. They had had an amazing night, and even though he had wished to say goodnight to her, she was gone before he even had the chance. He began to walk out when he stopped and turned around, closing the door behind him.

"No. Why are you acting this way? I thought we had a great time last night."

"You know what, Troy? I thought we had a great time too. But I guess I was just the warm up girl. I know you had other plans last night."

"Yeah, I went to Chad's. I don't get what the big deal is."

She smirked at him. "Just get out."

"No." He said, standing firmly in his place. "I deserve some sort of explanation."

He wasn't sure why, but Gabriella blew up. "_You_ need and explanation Troy? I think I'm the one who deserves an explanation. An explanation as to why you led me on all night thinking you actually were interested when you already had 'plans' with Lacey Masterson. I should have known better."

Troy looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act stupid Troy. She was going on and on about it in the ladies room. She wasn't exactly being reserve about it."

Now Troy was mad. "And you believed her. She was probably only saying that cause she saw you in there and was jealous I was spending so much time with you. She's been after me for years Brie. There's nothing there. I swear to it."

"My name is Gabriella." She said through gritted teeth walking over to her bed stand. She grabbed her cell phone and walked over to him. Opening the phone and showing him the text message she received last night.

"That," she said pointing at the screen. "Is the message I received last night. And that," pointing again, "Is your cell phone number. Explain."

Troy grabbed the phone and read the message several times. "Br- Gabriella. I didn't send this message. This is some sort of mistake."

"You think the phone just sent it itself? I'm not stupid Troy!"

"I swear I didn't send this message. I think I was even asleep at this time it was sent. And I don't sign my texts like that. Look at your other texts I've sent. None of them are signed like that."

She still looked at him furiously, and still not believing him. He looked at the message one more time before a light clicked. He pulled out his phone, and opened up his inbox.

"Look." he said pulling up a message from Chad.

_alright, dude. sounds cool._

_xxxChadxxx_

Troy could see some of the anger fade in her eyes, but she still looked uncertain. "I don't know Troy. Just let me think about this."

Troy, figuring he had done all he could and knew that she needed time to herself, began to walk out. He stopped when he got to the door and turned to her.

"I don't know why you would even believe that Lacey b.s., she's got nothing on you Brie." And with that he walked out the door.

Even being completely furious with him, Troy Bolton still made her heart flip flop.

* * *

Hours later Troy still hadn't heard Gabriella leave her room, and he thought desperately on what to do. He pulled out his cell phone thinking about how stupid it was he couldn't just walk over there and talk to her. But he knew she didn't want him in there. And he figured if he were in her shoes, he'd probably feel the same way.

Across the hallway, Gabriella lay in her bed, motionless. Her mind was numb and she didn't know what to do. Her thoughts were broken as her phone vibrated next to her.

_Brie. Please believe me. _

_-TB_

She thought for a moment before responding.

_I do believe you Troy. I don't  
think I have any choice not  
to. I just don't think it's wise  
for me to get close to you.  
I'll be leaving in a couple of  
months anyways, and I don't  
want to get hurt by you either.  
-Brie_

Less than a minute later, her phone buzzed again.

_That's crap and you know it.  
I truly have feelings for you.  
Just gimme a chance.  
-TB_

Gabriella desperately want to give in and say yes. But she knew she couldn't do that. She quickly typed her response.

_  
I'm sorry, Troy. I don't know  
if I trust you when you say that.  
I don't want to be some big joke  
to you and your friends. Now please  
just leave me alone. I'll leave you  
alone while I stay here. I'm going  
to take a nap now. Please don't  
respond anymore. I'm sorry.  
I just can't get hurt by you  
again. It hurts too much.  
-Brie  
_

She closed her phone and set it aside. She rolled over in her bed and quickly fell asleep.

-

Troy sat there staring at the message. He finally found a girl who was worth something and she didn't even want to give him a chance. This couldn't be happening. He sat there for what seemed eternity and decided that Gabriella was worth the fight. Now if he could only figure out how to show that to her. Or at least show her he cared.

Almost an hour later, he figured it out.

* * *

It wasn't hard sneaking into Gabriella's room. Troy had at first tip-toed across her room only to realize that Gabriella was a much deeper sleeper than he had thought. Searching through her room, he finally found what he was looking for. This was all too perfect.

* * *

The next week went by incredibly slow. Troy was avoiding his friends, mostly Chad, after the two had a huge blow up about the text message and Troy's recent actions. Troy had said to Chad that if he were a real friend, he'd respect any choice that Troy made.

Jason and Zeke had come to Troy a few days after the blow up between Chad and Troy telling him that they didn't care if he was interested in Gabriella, or if he was even spending time with her. They just wanted them to be happy, as cheesy as it sounded. Troy thanked his friends, glad he wasn't completely alone. Chad would have to accept it, or there really wasn't any point to their friendship.

Troy had schemed up a plan that day he spoke with Gabriella, but he knew he still had a few days before he could put it into action.

Gabriella had spent most of her week at Taylor's, and even one day the girls spent their day at Sharpay's enormous house. She stayed mostly quiet around them, but tried to have fun. Neither of the girls could get Gabriella to spill what was bothering her, but they both had a feeling it had to do with a certain Wildcat basketball player.

* * *

Finally, it was Saturday again, and Gabriella woke up and stretched, thankful she was able to sleep in. She was surprised when she rolled over and saw a single white lily next to a small white box. Confused, she picked up the box and untied the sloppily tied ribbon and opened the box. The contents inside made her eyes water. But how could this be possible?

She lifted the small music box out of the cardboard box and observed it. She noticed that it was the same music box, for she could slightly see where it had shattered. But who had had it fixed? She opened up the box, wiped away the tears that were now falling freely. A familiar tune filled the room and she was reminded of days when her father would sing along with her. She looked at the box and noticed a small note sat inside. Carefully, she pulled it out and placed the music box on her bed stand.

She unfolded the note and read carefully.

_Brie, _

_I hope I didn't offend you in some way by having this fixed. It just seemed too special to be broken into pieces. You deserve to have those memories, and if it wasn't for me and my stupid friends, the box would probably have never been broken. And for that I'm sorry. I know we really don't know each other all that well, and I've been a jerk for a portion of the time you've been here. But you've stuck with me Brie, and I'm not letting go. You seem to brighten up this dark world we live in. Please meet me at Amber Johnson's party (I know, probably not where you want to be, but I have something to show you). You can bring Taylor and Sharpay if you'd like. I want them to see this too. _

_I hope to see you later,  
Troy_

Gabriella was crying freely now. She couldn't recall a time where someone did something like this for her. She quickly picked up her phone and dialed.

"Hello, Taylor. I have a weird favor to ask of you."

* * *

Several hours later, Gabriella, Sharpay and Taylor walked up to the driveway or Amber Johnson's house, extremely nervous. They hoped this wasn't some sort of cruel joke. But Gabriella knew better. Why would Troy have gone through the trouble of fixing the music box. She had spilled everything while the three were getting ready. Taylor and Sharpay squealed when she told about the movie day and the hot tub and many of the other times her and Troy had hung out. They thought it was completely sweet, a 'modern day fairytale' as Sharpay put it, but all three had their doubts. This could all be a huge mistake.

They looked at each other, checking their outfits. Sharpay wore black stiletto's, black pants, and a lace corset. Her hair was down and straight and she adorned long hoop earrings. Taylor wore a halter neck shirt with jeans and red pumps. Gabriella wore a strapless red and black shirt with dark jeans and black heels. They had to admit, they could clean up pretty good. Satisfied with their outfits, the three girls made their way into the house.

* * *

Gabriella, Taylor and Sharpay stuck close to each other as the scanned the crown looking for someone familiar, but they really weren't a part of this crowd and they knew it well. Some people looked at the strangely, wondering why the hell they were there, while other's greeted them, not recognizing them at all. Gabriella felt her face grow hot when she noticed Lacey across the room and motioned for Taylor and Sharpay to make way for the other direction.

"Where do you think he is?" Sharpay shouted over the band's music.

"Or what he wants to show you... here?" Taylor yelled.

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders, and looked at them nervously. She couldn't find him anywhere.

Suddenly the band stopped playing and the singer tapped on the microphone.

"Uh, attention everyone. It appears we're going to have a guest appearance tonight. Looks like Superstar Troy Bolton wants to address you all."

There was drunken screams and applause as Troy made his way to the stage and glanced around at the crowd nervously. He went and pulled out what looked like a guitar case, pulling out his acoustic guitar, and sat on a stool that was centered in front of the mic.

He searched the room and looked for Gabriella, thinking that he saw her somewhere over by the staircase, and began to speak.

"So I'm sure you all know me from school or from the Wildcats basketball team." A scream was heard from Chad, who was clearly drunk. Troy looked down at him annoyed, and then continued. "But I kinda wanted to show you all another side of me. I want to thank a special someone, because I'd probably never be up here if it weren't for her. And I wanted to let her know, that she is the brightest thing I've got. So here's to you Brie."

The crowd murmured as he began to pluck the strings of the guitar. Taylor squeezed Gabriella's hand who looked over in response with a enormous smile across her face and tears in her eyes. She quickly shifted her gaze back to the stage and watched with the crowd as Troy began to sing.

_These days, with the world getting colder,  
She spends more time sleeping over  
Than I planned._

_Tonight were gonna order in,  
Drinking wine and watch some CNN.  
It's dark I know but then again  
It's the brightest thing I got_

_When I'm covered in rain  
When I'm covered in rain, rain, rain, rain  
No, I am covered in rain, rain  
Covered in rain_

_Firewoods to fire places  
Summer, snow, and fallen places  
Now we're people watching other people,  
people watching you and I_

_Standing by the missing signs at the CVS  
by the checkout line  
Put your tiny hands in mine  
'Cause you're the brightest thing I got_

_When you're covered in rain  
'Cause I'm covered in rain  
'Cause I'm covered in rain  
No I'm covered in rain_

_And its alright  
If you don't want to go on  
And its alright  
If you don't want to be alone  
And its alright  
If you don't want to go home_

_Come December Gabriella left  
Mentioned something about it being for the best  
And I can't say I disagree  
Now I'm standing facing west  
Tracing my fingers round a silhouette  
I haven't gotten used to yet  
But it's the brightest thing I got_

_And I'm covered in rain  
'Cause I'm covered in rain  
'Cause I'm covered in rain  
You and me and everyone, covered in rain_

Gabriella smiled as Troy continued playing the song. _'How perfect is this song?'_ she thought to herself. She watched as Troy finished out the song. Before he could even speak, everyone began applauding and cheering. This wasn't the response he was expecting, but he gladly took it. He quickly put his guitar and away and made his way off the stage only to be greeted by a throng of drunk girls.

_'Did they not get the point of what I was trying to say?'_ He thought as he pushed through. He wanted to find Gabriella. He pushed his way through the crowd searching all around him. Had she not come? He could have sworn he saw those beautiful brown eyes staring up at him during the song. He turned around the corner and saw her standing there, her back to him, talking with Taylor and Sharpay. The two girls noticed him behind her but obeyed when they saw him put a finger to his lips. He grabbed Gabriella's armed, causing her to turn around in shock.

"Troy, that was-"

But before she could finished he looked at Sharpay and Taylor. "You girls mind if I borrow her for a second?"

Both girls shook their heads, trying to refrain from squealing with excitement. They watched as Troy led their friend away and out the front door.

Looking at each other, they both seemed to think _'Now what do we do?'_

Troy walked with Gabriella down the street for quite some time before he chose to speak. He wanted to get away from the craziness of the party in order to have a real conversation.

"Thank you for coming." He finally said.

"Thank you for everything Troy. Thank you for the music box, thank you for the song, thank you for doing that in front of everyone. Why did you do all of this for me?" She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Hey now! I didn't mean for you to cry!" He chuckled, wiping away a tear that fell down her cheek. "Brie, I don't know what it is, but from that first day I met you I've found it hard to breathe around you. You're the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last when I fall asleep. I know I don't know where you've lived, or what your life has been like. I don't know you're favorite color, or song. But you make me want to be a better person, and I count down the minutes until I might get to see you. And I figure that has to mean something."

He paused and Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, but was once again cut off by Troy.

"And I know I've hurt you, really badly. I didn't exactly make your life here very welcoming. And I wish I could take it all back. I can't really make sense of anything, and I think that I'm falling in love with you Gabriella Montez. And I don't want to go and mess this up, so I was thinking we could take it slow. I don't want to risk the idea of ever losing you Brie. So, to finish up my rambling, would you like to go out with me Saturday night?"

Gabriella looked at him, unable to speak. That was quite a bit to take in. She looked away for a second, causing Troy to grow nervous, but then looked back with a breathtaking smile.

"I'd love to Troy."

_so there you have it. i'm sorry this took so long, but i'm going to try and make regular updates. as always, check out the outfits on my prof. review_

_love love_


	9. Crazy For This Girl

_alright. so here's another chapter. look at me go. good news is i've got this entire story planned out chapter by chapter. so expect more soon. _

_xZANESSA4LIFEx - i hope your question gets answered in this chapter. if not, let me know. _

_read and review.  
love love. _  
**  


* * *

**

**Best Of Me**

_Crazy For This Girl_

Saturday had finally come, and Gabriella was more than nervous. This was her first real date with Troy. He hadn't told her where they were going, so she wasn't sure how to dress, and settled for something casual, hoping he wouldn't take her anywhere fancy. She didn't really think that that was Troy's style, but it still worried her. She checked herself in the mirror, satisfied with her v-neck shirt and her dark jeans. She wore her hair down in soft curls,and her make up was done in tones of gray to match the shirt. Slipping on her shoes, she sat down on the bed and waited.

Since Troy technically lived right across the hallway, he was 'picking her up' from her doorway. It was completely silly, but Gabriella thought it was incredibly cute. Moments later, her thoughts were shaken by a light tapping on the door. She opened the door to see Troy standing with an enormous bouquet of lilies.

"These are for you." He said smiling. "You ready for our date?"

Gabriella nodded and smiled as she took the flowers and put them in a vase on her desk. "These are beautiful Troy." Turning back towards the desk she finally took a good look at Troy. _Damn, he looked good_. He wore jeans and a black button up dress shirt. His hair fell into his eyes giving him that boyish good looks she loved so much about him.

"Well, I figured a beautiful girl deserves beautiful flowers." He said causing Gabriella to smile. He took her hand and led her down the stairs. "My mom told me when I was a little boy that when you meet someone special, you buy her lilies. She said that everyone gives roses, but lilies are meant for something special."

If it was possible, Gabriella's smile grew wider.

"Mom! Dad!" Troy called out. "Me and Brie are going out. We'll be back later." And before his parents could come and talk to them, they were out they door.

Troy walked Gabriella to the car and opened the door for her. Allowing her to get in, he closed the door and made his way over to his side.

He got in and started the car and fastened his seatbelt. Glancing over at Gabriella, he smiled.

"You look amazing tonight, Brie." And with that he put the car in gear and drove off.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later they pulled up to a small uptown diner called Hersch's. Troy walked to Gabriella's side of the car and took hold of her hand as she stepped out. Hand in hand, they entered the restaurant.

"Hello Troy!" And elderly man called from behind the counter.

"Hey Bert! How's it going?

"Oh same old, same old I guess. We've missed you around here, my boy." Bert said coming from behind the counter and walking over to Troy and Gabriella.

"I'm sorry, basketball's been kinda crazy lately. But I'm here now."

"Well, I can be thankful for that. And who is this pretty little lady?" He asked shifting his eyes to Gabriella.

"I'm Gabriella." She said holding out her hand for Bert to shake. "How exactly do you two each know each other?"

"Oh, we go way back." Bert said chuckling, Troy laughing with him. "Why don't you go find a booth and Melinda will be right over to take your order."

"Thanks, Bert. Don't be shy now." Troy said leading Gabriella to a booth at the end of the restaurant.

As they both slid into the booth, he could see Gabriella was looking for some sort of explanation about the incident that had just taken place.

"When I was a little boy," he started, "I spent a lot of time with my Grandma and Grandpa. My mom was away at work a lot, she was studying to become a doctor at that point in time, and my dad had my life planned out by the time I was two. So my grandparents would come and get me and gave me a childhood most kids had. They took me to the zoo, the beach, stuff like that. Bert was my Grandpa's best friend from when they were boys and the two stuck by each other's side through the years. So when Bert decided to open this restaurant, my grandparents stood by him completely. We always came here to eat Bert's famous ribbles, a thick potato soup. After they died, Bert was the only connection I really had to them. My dad was never close to his parents, so he never talked about them. I found comfort here. I've been coming ever since."

Gabriella smiled at the story and looked at the menu. "So I'm guessing I have to try these famous 'ribbles'?"

"Oh you know it." Troy laughed. "There's no way I'd let you escape not trying them. They're amazing."

"Well, I can't say no to that now can I?" she laughed. The two continued to talk until the waitress to came over and took their orders.

"I'll have a cheeseburger, with a side of fries and ribbles. And a Coke, please." Troy said folding up his menu.

Gabriella pondered a moment longer, before deciding. "I'll have a coke as well, and the chicken salad meal with a side of ribbles." She had to refrain herself from laughing as she said the word. It sounded too funny to be food.

"Thank you. I'll have that right out to you." Melinda, the waitress, said walking away.

Gabriella looked around and took in her surroundings. This place was cozy, decorated in a country sort of manner.

"Thank you for taking me here, Troy. This place is awesome."

"It's no problem at all. It means a lot to me so I wanted to show you."

They talked quietly for a few moments until Bert brought out their drinks and pulled up a seat.

"So, Miss Gabriella. Tell me about yourself." He said putting his chin in his hand, resting his elbow on the table.

"Yes, Miss Gabriella. I'm interested as well." Troy said imitating Bert's gestures causing Gabriella to laugh.

"Well. What would you like to know?" She looked back between the men in front of and to the right of her.

"What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever had had happen to you?"

Gabriella sat and thought for a moment before she spoke. "When I was a freshmen we lived in Ohio and my mom's friend had me babysit for her two girls, who were seven and nine. So we were out on the back porch and I was sitting in one of their lawn chairs while the girls played with their dolls. I dozed off, completely leaving the girls on their own. An hour or so later my mom called asking me why I hadn't met her and the girls' mother at the mall like we had planned. I told her we got caught up in a game, not wanting them to know I had fallen asleep on the job. So I quickly gathered up the girls and walked to the mall. I didn't really notice that everyone was staring at me, and the girls giggled as we made our way through. When we made it to the food court my mom stared at me like I was a ghost. Apparently the girls had colored on my face while I was asleep and I had carried on through town and the mall as if nothing were there. If was definitely an embarrassing experience."

Troy and Bert both laughed at her story. The three continued to talk for several minutes until Bert left and went back to work. Gabriella and Troy kept up their conversation until their food was brought out.

Gabriella stared at the 'soup' that was in front of her. It looked like paste with large chunks. "I'm supposed to eat this?" She asked doubtfully.

"Brie. Do you really think I'd mislead you. Here, look." He said taking a spoonful of the soup. "Mmmmmmm."

Gabriella was reminded of someone trying to make a three year old eat broccoli and laughed. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

She tasted a small bite and her eyes opened wide at she swallowed the soup.

"Holy crap! This stuff is awesome!" She exclaimed.

"I told you." Troy laughed.

They continued to eat their dinner, carrying light conversation. They finished their meal and talked with Bert before making their way out to the car. They were stopped when they heard Bert yell.

"Don't you let go of that one Troy!"

Gabriella blushed at this comment, but Troy just smiled.

"Don't worry, Bert. I won't!" He called back, and continued to lead Gabriella out to the car.

"So, what did you think of Hersch's?" Troy asked

"I loved it. Thank you so much for taking me there Troy. I had a blast. Bert's a great guy."

"Yeah. He is. I haven't been around there in months. I'm glad we got to come."

* * *

Quietly, Troy and Gabriella stepped into the house, trying not to wake his parents. Troy took her hand and walked her up the stairs and stopped in front of their doors.

"Thank you for tonight Troy. I had an amazing time."

"Me too. Thank you so much for going. I'll see you tomorrow?" She nodded in response. Troy grabbed her hand and kissed it softly. "Goodnight Brie."

"Goodnight Troy." She said.

They exchanged one last smile before stepping into their own room.

* * *

Gabriella lay in her bed trying to think of a time where she had felt happier. Tonight was amazing. Troy was amazing. She couldn't even believe this was all happening to her.

Sadly, in the back of her mind she warned herself not to get too attached. She knew her Mom would be relocated again soon, and it would only be a matter of months for her to move again. Silently, she prayed it was somewhere not far from Albuquerque

* * *


	10. That's How Love Should Be

**Best Of Me**

_That's How Love Should Be_

Months had passed since that night of the date. Troy and Gabriella were as close as ever, but still remained an unofficial couple. It didn't matter though. Everyone knew they were taken, and no one messed with them. It was mid March now, and everyone at East High was getting excited by the many exciting events coming up.

Gabriella sat on her bed reading _Of Mice and Men_, her current English assignment. It was early Saturday morning, and she wanted to finish the book so she could spend the rest of the day as planned with Troy. Thinking of him still gave her butterflies.

About half an hour later, the book was finished and she lay down completely on her bed. She knew Troy was still in bed and she didn't mind just laying there awhile. She pulled out her phone and scanned through her called list. She burrowed her eyebrows after seeing it had been almost three weeks that her mother had called her. She normally got a phone call at least once every couple of days, but she hadn't heard from her in quite some time. Not to mention, she usually received a letter from her mother every two weeks that had a check in it to give her a little bit of cash to have on hand. She would use as little of it as she needed and put the rest of it in the bank for safe keeping. But she realized it had been almost two months since she had even received that and the funds she did have in the bank were running low.

Getting herself worried, she dialed her mother's number. Three rings later, her mother picked up.

"My baby girl! Oh how I miss you!"

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief knowing her mother was alright. "I've missed you too, Mom. How are you?"

"Good good, honey. Look, I gotta go. I'll call you soon. Love you much." _Click._

Gabriella stared at the phone in disbelief. That was strange. She remained deep in thought until she felt two arms wrap around her waist. She smiled and leaned back into Troy, who settled himself on the bed behind her.

"How are you this morning, beautiful?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Well, I'm doing good. But I can tell there's something wrong with you. Don't try to hide it from me either, I know you better than that Brie."

Gabriella smiled at him. He did know her all too well. She turned her body around and he took her hands in his.

"Now spill." He said, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

Gabriella sighed, thinking of where to start. "Well, I normally get calls from my mom every couple of days. But today, I looked at my call list and realized it had been weeks since she had called. Then I also realized I hadn't received her letters or checks she sends every two weeks or so. It's not like she gives me loads of money, but I'm kinda running low and I'm just worried. So anyways, I got scared and called to make sure she was okay and she was too busy to talk to me."

Troy looked down at her, seeing the sadness in her eyes and pulled her close. "I'm sorry Brie. I wish I could tell you why she's acting this way."

"I'm just glad you're here for me to talk to." She said snuggling closer into his chest. She felt better just by being closer to him.

"And Brie, if you need anything, just ask. I'll help you with anything."

Gabriella knew what Troy was saying. He would lend her money if she needed it. But Gabriella couldn't do that. She had always had a sense of independence and she wasn't ready to let her guard down that much. But it didn't stop her from loving Troy even more for caring.

"Thank you Troy. I will let you know if I do."

"Hey Brie?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you go to prom with me?" Troy asked, looking down at her with puppy eyes. They both had assumed they would be going together, but he still felt he should be a gentlemen and ask.

"I would love to Troy." She responded with a smile. They lay there for some time, just watching tv, wrapped in each other's arms.

Several hours later, Gabriella's phone buzzed.

She flipped open the phone, reading the text she had received.

"Anything important?" Troy asked, knowing it was probably some stupid forward that everyone was into sending now-a-days.

"It's Taylor. She wants to go prom dress shopping tonight with Sharpay."

"Well, I think you should go." Troy said sitting up with her.

"You wouldn't mind? I know we had plans."

"Nah. I should probably go hang out with Chad. He gets withdrawal." He laughed.

Over the past few months, Troy and Chad had mended their friendship and Chad had actually become close with Gabriella and her friends.

"You think he's going to ask Taylor?" Gabriella asked, still texting her friend.

"Who knows with him. But I think so."

"Good. Cause she really wants him to." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "I've got to start getting ready. I'll have my phone on me tonight if you need more or get bored."

"Sounds good. Have fun Brie."

"You too, Troy.

Gabriella, Sharpay, and Taylor had spent hours going from store to store to store. Both Sharpay and Taylor's mothers had joined them, which made Gabriella feel slightly jealous that her mom wasn't here to shop too. But she wouldn't let it affect her.

They had returned to the very first store they had come into that day which made Gabriella chuckle. She had heard something about dress shopping that you always come back to the first dress or store.

Taylor and Sharpay picked out dresses they had tried on earlier, wanting to get another opinion. Gabriella, however, browsed around knowing she probably wouldn't be able to afford any of these dresses.

She looked through the racks when something caught her eye. She parted two dresses to see the most incredible dress she had ever seen.

"Oh my god Gabby. That's absolutely gorgeous. You have to try it on." She heard Sharpay call from behind her. She pulled it off the rack glancing at the price. _Well, trying it on doesn't cost anything._ She thought as she walked over.

She slipped into the fitting room and pulled the dress on and looked at herself in the mirror. This dress was simply incredible.

She heard the curtain door slide and Sharpay and Taylor gasp.

"Gabby. You have to get that dress. You look stunning." Taylor said.

"You look absolutely beautiful. Troy won't know what hit him." Sharpay said dramatically. "He'd definitely think this unofficial thing over again,"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. No matter how many times she explained that she and Troy were taking it slow, they didn't get it. They thought he was afraid of commitment or playing around with her. But she knew differently. Although, it wouldn't hurt to be called his girlfriend.

They had talked about it before, but with the possibility of her leaving, it was a matter that was left alone.

She shifted her thoughts back to the dress and looked at her friends. "I can't afford this guys. I'll just find something else."

Both of her friends could see the disappointment in her eyes. They watched as she placed the dress back and walked out and sat on a bench. They quickly purchased their dresses, both of them feeling incredibly guilty and the five of them left to get dinner.

* * *

Gabriella woke up early Sunday morning feeling down. Her mother was ignoring her, she couldn't get her dream dress, and after yesterday, the situation with Troy sort of made her doubtful.

She looked over at Troy's room and wondered where he had gone off to. He had been gone when she woke up this morning, and was not answering any of her calls. She figured he was off playing hoops with Chad or something, and it was nothing to worry about.

"Gabriella?" She heard Marie, and turned to see her standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind running to the grocery store with me? Jack's busy this afternoon and I hate going alone."

"Of course, Marie. I'd love to." Gabriella was always willing to help out seeing as how the Bolton's had opened up their house to her. It was the least she could do.

* * *

Almost two hours later, Gabriella and Marie walked inside arms filled with groceries, completely soaked from the rain.

"I'm glad we got all of it in one run. Thank you for helping me Gabriella." Marie said sweetly. She was growing very fond of Gabriella.

"I promise Marie. It was not a problem. Let me help you put these away."

They talked a bit more about the weather as they put away the groceries. When everything was put away, Gabriella made her way up to her room. Climbing the steps and rounding the corner she noticed her door was shut. _Had she left it shut?_

She turned the knob and immediately noticed a large white box sitting on her bed. Curious, she walked over and saw a note sitting on top.

_Brie,_

_You're amazing, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You deserve more than anyone to have a perfect prom. I hope you like this gift. And don't worry, I had Taylor go in and get it so I wouldn't see it. I want to be surprised. But I know you're going to be beautiful no matter what._

_-Troy_

Gabriella felt her hands get clammy and her breaths were short. _He didn't._Carefully, she opened the box and saw the dress sitting in the box. Placing the lid back down, she walked out of her room and knocked on Troy's door.

Troy was playing guitar but seeing Gabriella opened the door he put it down. He suddenly grew worried when he saw tears in her eyes. Before he knew it she was in his arms.

"Thank you so much Troy."


	11. The Way You Look Tonight

_i tell you what! i'm on a roll!! keep reviewing!!_

_also check out the dresses and such on my profile._

* * *

**Best Of Me**

_The Way You Look Tonight_

Gabriella nervously fidgeted with the top of her dress as she sat waiting for Taylor to get dressed. It had been an eventful day for them: hair appointments, manicures, pedicures, you name it. Gabriella couldn't remember a day in her life where she had been pampered so much.

She could hear Sharpay in the room next door on the phone with her driver, giving him all the details of when and where to pick them up. Finally, she heard the bathroom door open and Taylor stepped out in her elegant purple gown.

"Tay, You look incredible." Gabriella said.

"So do you Gabby. I still can't believe Troy got that dress for you. It's perfect."

Gabriella smiled, but was distracted when she heard Sharpay bustling into the room in her pink gown. Gabriella noted that Sharpay also looked extremely beautiful.

"Edward said he would be here at five fifteen, which leaves us only forty five minutes for pictures."

Gabriella looked at both Taylor and Sharpay, and they both seemed extremely worried about this. "Isn't that plenty of time?" She asked meekly.

"When my sister went to prom two years ago, it took an hour alone to get the boys to stand still to take the pictures." Taylor said, matter-of-factly.

Gabriella didn't really see Troy, Chad and Zeke acting up, but she was new to all of this.

"What time is it now?" She asked, looking around for a clock.

"Four." Sharpay said glancing at her phone. "We still have half an hour 'til they get here. Maybe we should sit and rest for a bit. It's going to be a long night." She smiled.

The girls moved out of Taylor's room and into the sitting room that sat at the top of the stairs.

"You girls look beautiful." Taylor's mom said coming out of her room. "You definitely have some lucky dates."

The girls smiled and thanked her. They talked about random things, secretly each one as nervous as the other, waiting for their dates. They almost fell out of the chairs when the bell rang.

"Can you see who it is, Brie?" Taylor whispered, seeing as how Gabriella was sitting closest to the window.

Gabriella craned her neck, but couldn't see the figure standing at the door. "No Tay, sorry."

"That's fine. I put my little brother up to answering the door. We'll know shortly."

Sure enough, they heard the door open and Michael yell an incredibly loud "hi" to whomever was at the door.

"Someone named Zeke is at the door!!" Michael screamed even louder.

"Well, girls. I guess that's me." Sharpay said smiling, and made her way down the door.

Gabriella looked over at Taylor, who was fidgeting with her finger nails.

"Taylor. You look amazing. Chad won't be able to take his eyes off you."

"Thanks, Gabby. I'm just so nervous. Who would have thought I'd be going to the prom with Chad Danforth?"

"It's been quite a whirlwind hasn't it?"

"You can say that again."

"Well, I'm glad you were there by my side through it all. You're the closest friend I've ever had Tay."

Taylor wiped her eyes. "Aww, Gabby. Don't make me cry and ruin my makeup." She stood and walked to give her friend a hug.

"Taylor!! You're boyfriend is here!!" Michael yelled up the stairs.

Taylor pulled away from the hug. "I'm going to kill him." She said and flattened her dress. Giving one last wave to Gabriella she made her way down the stairs.

Gabriella sat waiting by herself for what seemed like forever. Her nerves were off the charts, and she prayed that she looked alright, and that tonight would be perfect. She walked over to window, hoping she would be able to see Troy arrive.

"Apparently, there's this amazingly beautiful girl waiting up here for this really great guy." She heard a familiar voice come from behind her. She turned around to see Troy standing at the top of the stairs looking as handsome as ever. She opened her mouth to speak, but found she was unable to.

"I guess it was true." He said smiling. "Brie, you looking beautiful."

Finally, she spoke. "Why didn't anyone let me know you were here?"

"I wanted to talk to be with you alone for a few minutes. So I came to you. Will you come sit with me." He said walking over to the couch. She nodded, and came and sat next to him.

Troy took one of her hands, and began rubbing circles gently against her skin with his thumb. "You really do look amazing."

For the first time, Gabriella smiled. "Thank you. I was so nervous I looked awful. You look incredibly handsome Troy."

"Thank you very much. And for the record, I don't think there's any way you could look awful Brie." He said. "I have a gift for you."

"Troy, you've already given me enough." She said looking down at her dress. "I couldn't accept anything else."

"Gabriella. I love you."

"I love you too." She responded. _Wait a second. Did he just say "I love you?" _She looked up into his eyes and saw he was sincere. Suddenly she felt very stupid for answering so quickly. "Troy, I love you too."

"Well, I was hoping you'd say that." He chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box. "And I really do have a gift for you."

He handed the box over to Gabriella, who opened it slowly to reveal the most beautiful diamond necklace.

"Troy. I can't accept this. It's-it's-it's too much." She said startled by the piece of jewelry in front of her.

"Would you accept it if you did something for me in return?"

She looked at him confused. "Yes..."

"Be my girlfriend, Gabriella."

Gabriella dropped the necklace to the floor in shock, and hurriedly bent down to pick it back up.

"Troy, are you sure about this? What about-"

She was silenced by his fingers to her lips. "I've been thinking about this a lot. I've been so stupid. I don't care if you move to Antarctica. I love you and that's all that matters. I realized that I need you in my life, Brie, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you stay in it. I love you."

Tears sprang into Gabriella's eyes as she leaned in and kissed him.

"So that's a yes?" He said pulling away from the kiss.

"That's a yes." She said smiling.

* * *

"Okay, seriously. What could be taking them so long." Sharpay demanded. "We only have half an hour to do pictures!"

As if on cue, Troy and Gabriella appeared at the top of the stairs and made their way down.

"Guys." Troy said. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Gabriella."

Hearing this, Sharpay and Taylor let out a squeal of excitement, completely forgetting the pictures.

* * *

Hours later, Troy and Gabriella quietly opened the front door to their house, trying to keep their laughter down.

"Shhhh... Troy. Let's go upstairs." She said quietly.

He took her hand and led her up the stairs. As they reached their rooms, Troy leaned in to kiss her, preparing to saying goodnight. He was cut off, however.

"Troy, this is going to come out all wrong. But do you think you could stay with me tonight. This night was perfect, and I just want you there next to me. But I don't-"

"I would love to Gabriella. Why don't you go get changed into your pajamas and such, and I'll meet you in a few minutes."

Gabriella smiled. She loved how he could always understand was she trying to say, even if she wasn't sure she was saying it right. "Sounds great."

Ten minutes later she was dressed and in her bed when she heard a knock on the door and Troy peak his head in. "Safe to come in?" He called.

"Come on in Troy."

Troy stepped in, closing the door behind him, and walked over to her bed, crawling under the covers. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"Goodnight Brie."

Gabriella smiled as she breathed in his scent around her. _Yes, I could definitely spend the rest of my life like this. Wait... did I just think that? _Her smile widened as she snuggled in closer.

"Goodnight Troy."

* * *

Gabriella woke up abruptly when she heard her cell phone ringing. She reached over and answered it quietly.

"Hello?" She said groggily.

"Gabriella! I'm coming to New Mexico! I have the most exciting news to tell you!!"

"Mom?"

_Click. _

"Mom, you there?"

Hearing no response, Gabriella wondered what her mother's phone call could mean. She smiled as she felt Troy's grip tighten on her. She laid back down and cuddled into him. Falling back asleep.

She'd figure it out sooner or later.

* * *

__

_there you have it. i got the least amount of reviews for this story ever the last two chapters, so please review :( i hope it's not terrrible or something. _

_thanks for reading! love love_


	12. Dirty Little Secret

_okay. so here's the next chapter. i've wrriten out the rest of this story, so as soon as i get some reviews, i'll post the next one._

_thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters. i was getting worried there for a little while._

_lacey- i'm sorry. the high school i went to, the only lacey i knew was a total b. no offense to you, or most of the other lacey's. i'm sure you're all just wonderful._

_lol925- i don't know why, but i see troy and his parents as upper middle class. so maybe rich enough to buy a necklace for her. okay... maybe he really is loaded lol_

_How.To.Touch.A.Girl- i loooovve long reviews. so don't you feel bad at all._

_Dee31 - you are a smart smart girl..._

_thanks again to everyone who reviewed. and now onto the story._

* * *

**Best Of Me**

_Dirty Little Secret_

Troy walked down the stairs and stretched. He smiled, feeling as if he had just gotten the best night of sleep he had had in a long long time. He had woken up to find Gabriella gone, a simple note explaining he "looked way to cute to wake up."

He made his way into the kitchen, smelling the sweet smell of his mother's cooking from all the way upstairs.

"Good morning, Mom" He said giving her a kiss on the cheek before seating himself at the island.

"Well, good morning to you too." She said smiling.

"Any idea on where Gabriella is this morning?"

"She's outside on the back porch. She's been out there on the phone for almost a half hour."

Troy looked outside to see Gabriella with one hand attached to the phone by her ear, the other in a tight fist. She was definitely stressing about something."Any idea on who she might be talking to?"

"I think she said her mother."

"Oh. Okay." He replied. His mother placed a plate of eggs and sausage in front of him.

"You know," she started. "I went into your room this morning to make sure you made it home last night." She gave him a knowing look.

"I stayed in Gabriella's room." he simply said, stabbing a sausage link and putting it into his mouth.

"Oh, well next time I'll tell the police to check there first." She teased. "Now Troy, I'm not sure if-"

Troy, sensing what she was about to say, interrupted. "Mom, you have no need to worry. You can trust me more than that. You've been giving me the sex and STD's talk since I was eight."

"Well, I was just trying to be a proactive parent."

"I know. And I thank you for that. I'm sure I haven't always been the easiest kid to raise, but please just trust me on this. Plus, I care about Gabriella a lot more than that."

Marie looked at her son and knew he was being sincere. "Well, let's not let it happen a lot." She smiled. "What kind of mother would I be if I let my teenage son stay the night with his girlfriend?"

"An awesome one."

She laughed. "Yes, that's probably true. So tell me, how was the dance last night?"

* * *

"Mom, why can't you just tell me over the phone?"

"Gabby, this is way too huge to just tell you over the phone. I'm coming to Albuquerque this weekend. I'll tell you all the exciting news then. Ciao!"

Gabriella hung up the phone. _Ciao??_

Sighing, she looked out into the back yard, tears welling up in her eyes. She was moving even sooner than she had thought. She had at least expected to get to spend the summer with Troy and her friends before she moved again, but her gut was telling her it was going to be a lot sooner than that. She didn't even know how to even begin telling Troy.

She wiped away the tears and turned to walk inside. Closing the sliding doors behind her, she took a moment to adjust to the cold temperature inside the room. _Damn the air conditioning. _Glancing to her left, she noticed Troy and his mother in the kitchen, both turned to face her.

"Good morning, Brie." Troy said walking over and kissing the side of her head. Gabriella felt him take her hand, and for a slight moment, she felt okay. He could always make her feel better when the bad things happened. And now that would be gone too.

"Good morning." She said, trying her hardest to smile at him and then at Marie.

"Everything okay?" Marie asked. She had watched Gabriella pace back and forth the entire time she was on the phone.

Gabriella paused, willing tears not to come. "It was my mom. She has important news to tell me, and she said she's coming to Albuquerque by the end of the week."

She kept her eyes on Marie as she said this, and then looked at Troy after she had finished. She immediately noticed his worried expression, and the tears Gabriella was fighting began to well up in her eyes.

"If you guys would excuse me, I have homework to do." Gabriella said, wiping away the tears that were now falling freely and quickly ran up the stairs, not waiting for a response.

"Mom, I'll be back." Troy said receiving a look of understanding from his mother.

"Gabriella?" Troy called stepping into her room. He looked around and saw she was standing on the big balcony at the far end of her room. He quickly walked out onto the balcony, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Please talk to me." He said nuzzling his head into her neck.

"What's there to say Troy? I have to move again. I have to leave all of this." She turned to face him. "I have to leave _you._"

Troy looked down into her eyes and saw the pure hopelessness and prayed that what she was saying to him wasn't true.

"Brie, you don't know that. You have no idea what she has to say. She could say anything. Maybe she really does have good news for you."

Deep down, Gabriella knew her mother didn't have good news. But looking up at Troy she could see he really was trying to hope for the best. The very thought that he was staying strong and hopeful for her made her heart melt.

"You're right Troy. I'm just so happy here with you. I don't want to leave."

"I _really_ don't want you to leave either."

They stood there like that for several more minutes, both afraid to let go of each other. They both knew that in a matter of days their entire lives would be changed.

* * *

That Friday, Gabriella sat next to Troy on her bed, nervously playing with the hem on her skirt. She felt Troy grab her hand, entwining his fingers with hers.

"Brie, everything is going to be okay."

"I'm just so scared." She lay her head on his shoulders and together they waited for Gabriella's mother to arrive. They both jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"Isabella!" They could hear Marie from downstairs. "It's so good to see you! Gabriella should be around here somewhere."

"You ready?" Troy asked, giving her a reassuring look.

"Let's get this over with."

Together they stood up and made their way down the stairs.

"Gabriella! My baby girl!" Isabella exclaimed as she saw her daughter at the bottom of the stairs and immediately pulled her into a hug. Gabriella twisted into the hug, her hand still attached to Troy's.

"Oh Gabby! Tell me everything! How is school? Tell me about your friends. Oh how I've missed you!"

"Shall we move into the living room? I could bring us out some lemonade or iced tea." Marie suggested. She knew Isabella had something to share, and thought they might as well be comfortable while they figured out just what it was.

"Yes, yes. That would be lovely." Isabella said with a smile plastered on her face.

"Okay then. Troy would you like to help me?" Marie asked, trying to give Gabriella and her mother a few moments alone.

Troy looked at his mother, almost getting angry. Over the past few months, Gabriella and Troy had talked a lot about her mother. Looking as Isabella Montez, he could definitely see this was Gabriella's mother, but something about her actions seemed ...fake. She didn't seem like the mother Gabriella had talked so fondly of. "Sure mom." He said, getting up to help his mother. It wasn't like he could say: _"No Mom. I'm staying with Gabriella because I don't trust this woman the slightest bit." _He looked back, giving Gabriella one last reassuring look before stepping into the kitchen.

"Gabby, sweetie. Tell me everything. Do you like it here?"

"Yeah. I love it here. I have great friends, Troy is amazing. I'm-"

"Troy?" her mother asked, a confused look upon her face.

"Yeah, Mom. Troy. The guy that just left the room. The one who's hand I was holding onto when you hugged me. Remember? I told you we were dating the last time we spoke."

"Oh, I'm sorry Gabby baby. I forgot." Her mother smiled sweetly. "I have the biggest surprise for you. You're just going to love it!"

Before Gabriella could speak, Troy and Marie emerged with a tray of drinks.

"Oh, thank you both so so much!" Isabella said with a tone that put the most shallow of middle school girls to shame.

He took his place next to Gabriella, while Marie sat in one of the armchairs across from them and next to Isabella.

"Marie, Gabby was just telling me about how she and Troy were dating. How do you handle that with both of them living under the same roof?" Isabella asked, taking a sip of her lemonade. Troy felt Gabriella's grip on his hand grow tight.

"It's not really that big of a deal at all. I know that Troy and Gabriella are both good kids, and I trust them."

Isabella nodded, but before anyone could continue the conversation, Gabriella spoke up.

"Are we moving again?" She blurted out, trying to keep her composure.

Isabella looked at her daughter. She had wanted to wait just a little longer before they got into this.

"Yes." She simply replied.

Gabriella felt tears spring into her eyes, and looked away from her mother. "Where?"

"New York. I have more details, but I can't tell you them just yet. It's part of the surprise."

"Will you all excuse me for just a moment?" Gabriella asked. She gave Troy a look telling him to stay put, and then quickly got up and made her way to the bathroom. Safe inside the room's four walls, she let the tears fall. She sobbed as she thought about how unfair this all really was. They weren't even moving somewhere semi-close to where she could see Troy and her friends on the weekends. They were moving to New York. Halfway across the damned country. Quickly, she regained her composure, wiped away her tears, and made her way back out into the living room. She didn't explain her absence. She knew she didn't need to. She simply sat back down next to Troy, taking his hand in hers.

"Your mother was just telling us about her time in South Africa." Marie said, trying to eradicate the tension that was in the room.

"Oh. That's nice." Gabriella said, her voice lacking any emotion what-so-ever.

"Why, Isabella. That's such a beautiful ring on your finger." Marie said. She really was trying her hardest to sound cheery and hoped she could get this conversation to start flowing smoothly.

The next few moments felt as if Gabriella was traveling through slow motion. She turned to see the ring on her mother's left hand. She watched as her mother thanked Marie, and then continue on with their conversation. The door bell rang and she continued to watch as her mother made her way to the door and came back hand in hand with the person at the door.

All of the sudden reality hit her like a brick and shoved her out of her current trance.

"Gabby, I can now tell you my wonderful news! Tony and I got married!"

* * *

_review!!_


	13. Long Day

_alright guys, here's the next chapter. i've written the last three or four chapters, so if get lots of reviews i'll post the next one._

_thanks for all the reviews. you guys rock! keep em coming._

_QueenLittleMissEvil- I actually don't use a beta, so i'm really glad there aren't a lot of errors. _

* * *

**Best Of Me**  
_Long Day_

"Gabriella!" Troy called after the girl who had high-tailed it out of his house moments ago. "Gabriella! Please stop and talk to me."

He caught up to her, keeping the fast pace she was walking.

"Brie, who was that?" Troy asked, his voice almost pleading for her to stop and talk to him. He could see the fury in her eyes. They were wild with hurt and rage and she was in a state that Troy wasn't really sure she was even capable of being in.

"Antonio. Antonio William Masters the Third." She said through gritted teeth.

"Gabriella, stop." He said, grabbing her shoulder, causing her to stop. She turned to face him and Troy used this opportunity to put his hands on her arms and rub them in comfort. "Please just talk to me."

"My life is a fairytale gone completely wrong. I fall in love with Prince Charming before he can save me from the evil stepfather. I knew my luck was running high by getting to have a chance with you."

Looking into Gabriella's eyes, Troy was scared. Scared for Gabriella. Scared for himself. Her eyes were layered with expressions of confusion and rage, but what scared Troy were the expressions of fear.

"So you've met him before?"

"Yes. The New York part should have tipped me off. I should have known Troy. I didn't even see the ring on her finger Troy. I was being so naïve."

"You had no possible way of knowing this was coming. No one saw this coming, Brie. What's so bad about the guy?"

Gabriella knew that if she told Troy everything about how horrible Tony really was to her, or about how he made passes at her when they were alone, or how he had once tried to come into her bedroom at night, Troy would probably kill Tony on the spot.

"He's just a horrible guy. My mom met him when we lived in New York. We actually lived with him for a while. He's a doctor. An extremely wealthy doctor. But he's just horrible. He has a really bad drinking problem, and has a bad temper when he's drunk, which is a lot. I know that he's sort of a shady guy, and he really doesn't treat people with the respect they deserve. I hate him Troy. He turns my mother into, well, you saw exactly what he turns mom into."

Troy nodded in response. Isabella was definitely not what he had expected. From what Gabriella had told him, he expected an older Gabriella. Someone who was smart, sophisticated, and very kind. And this Tony character was something else. Troy had never known Gabriella to hate anyone, not even Lacey or Chad when they pulled the stunt after the dance. So to hear that very expression come out of her mouth, he knew that Tony wasn't someone to put a whole lot of faith into.

"She didn't even tell me. Why wasn't I there at her wedding? _I'm her daughter."_

"I don't know. If there was anything I could do to make all of this right or go away, I would in a heartbeat. I hope you know that."

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, and the two stood like that for several moments, finding comfort in each other's arms.

They both jumped out of their trance as Troy's cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out, and looked at the caller ID.

"One sec, Brie. It's my mom." He flipped the phone open and kept one arm tight around Gabriella.

"Hey Mom, what's the story?"

"Well, Isabella and her husband" the word 'husband' coming out strange "just left and went back to their hotel. They wanted to get everything settled in and get cleaned up. They want to have dinner with all of us tonight, and they'll be over around seven. I know she's really hurt Troy, but I need you to bring Gabriella back here."

"Okay, Mom. Thank you for calling."

"You're welcome. Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Please tell her I'm so terribly sorry."

"I will Mom. We'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye Troy."

Troy didn't need to relay the message. Gabriella had heard everything that was said.

"Let's go." She said, pulling herself closer to Troy. They then walked home in silence.

* * *

Three hours later Gabriella and Troy were working on setting the table when Isabella and Tony arrived.

"It's going to be okay." Troy said quietly before taking his seat next to her.

The adults came into the room and sat down for dinner.

The first ten minutes or so of the meal were awkwardly quiet. Everyone kept their gazes down, every once in a while stealing a glance at the person sitting next to them, or at the person across the table. Gabriella and Troy sat next to each other, across from Isabella and Tony with Jack and Marie at each end.

Gabriella stared down at her plate, only looking up when something was passed to her. She felt completely betrayed by her mother and couldn't bare to look at either her or Tony.

Finally, Tony decided to break the ice. "Jack, Marie. Isabella and I cannot thank you enough for taking care of Gabriella all this time. Isabella told me how hard it was for her leaving Gabby all alone. But you have a wonderful home, and I'm sure she was well taken care of."

Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand hard as she listened to Tony make one of his all too familiar speeches. He was so manipulative and could make anyone like him. He was an ass. She hated that here he was acting like her father. Acting like he actually cared about her well being.

"Why thank you Tony. But it's been lovely having Gabriella around here. She's fit right in with the rest of us. You must be so proud of her Isabella. She definitely is a gem." Marie said smiling at Gabriella.

"Well, I'm not sure I would agree that she's a 'gem' but I'm glad she wasn't too much of a nuisance to you. I know she can be a real pain."

Troy almost choked on his drink. _Did he really just say that? Gabriella, a pain? Hardly._

"Tony," Gabriella spat. "How is it that you and my mother ended up together again? Seeing as how she was secluded in South Africa and you were up in New York."

"Oh, Gabby. You always were such a smart one weren't you?" He teased. "Two months ago or so, you're mother called me up saying how much she missed me. Her tour in South Africa had just ended and she flew up to the Big Apple where we worked things out. A month later we were married at the Country Club. I think that's all of the important points. Did I miss anything sweetie?"

Isabella looked at her husband and smiled. "Just that we missed each other gravely, and couldn't live without each other a second longer."

Tony smiled and gave his wife a kiss.

Gabriella almost gagged. She was furious. She didn't even know where to begin in sorting out her thoughts. Her mother married Tony over a month ago. In a formal, planned wedding ceremony that she wasn't at. Her mother kept this from her for a month now. And then there was the aspect of her mother's job. She had been out of South Africa for two months. Did she not even want her daughter in her life?

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why wasn't I at the wedding?" She asked, finally looking her mother in the eye.

"Oh Gabby. I didn't tell you I was home because me and Tony needed to figure everything out, just the two of us. I requested that my time in South Africa be cut short, and my job will now permanently be in New York. We needed to be alone, I didn't think you would understand any of this at the time."

"I still don't understand, Mom. And what about the wedding? Why wasn't I invited to my own mother's wedding?" Gabriella was trying hard not to raise her voice.

"It wasn't that big of a ceremony, baby. I didn't think it was important for you to be there."

"Of course it's important. _You're my mom_." Gabriella said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears.

Marie's heart ached as she watched the scene between Gabriella and her mother. She didn't quite understand Isabella's actions, but prayed that everything would work out for Gabriella.

They all sat in silence for the next several minutes, each taking in the previous conversation.

"Gabriella, why don't you tell me about some of the things you've been doing here in Albuquerque?" Isabella looked at her daughter with pleading eyes. There was a thick tension in the room, and she knew it was Gabriella's fault. She had to go an make a scene in front of her husband and long time friends. Isabella was completely embarrassed. The Boltons were being wonderfully hospitable to them and Gabby, and she was being a little brat.

By this point, Gabriella was almost feeling numb. Could anything get any worse?

"Well." She said flatly. "It was really hard the first few weeks. I didn't really have any friends, my only family was thousands of miles away, and I felt completely lost. I made some really great friends named Sharpay and Taylor and things started to look up for a bit. There was this country club dance type thing, which was a lot of fun, for the most part. I wore the dress I was supposed to wear to your wedding last year. This is about the point in the story where me and Troy started to get really close and start dating. The Wildcats went to the State Championships. Troy's the captain of the team, and Jack is the coach, so it was a really big deal for us. And then last week was prom. I think that sums it up."

"Well, that all sounds nice." Isabella said.

"Oh, Isabella you should have seen her at their prom. She looked up absolutely stunning." Marie said.

"She was very beautiful." Jack added in, to which Troy nodded.

"I think we have the pictures somewhere around here. Why don't we all move into the living room, and I can bring them out."

"Oh, that's not really necessary. Me and Tony should be going anyways. It's getting late."

"Yes, thank you for offering though. I hardly doubt that Gabriella was anywhere close to 'stunning'." Antonia said with a smirk.

"It is nice of you all to let her believe that though, I suppose." Isabella added.

They didn't say anything else, and simply left the table. Moments later their car was heard pulling out of the drive.

"Gabriella." Jack said with a steady voice. "Do not listen to either one of them. You hear me?"

She looked over at him, tears welling up in her eyes, and nodded.

"You are a very beautiful person, inside and out. You have singlehandedly brought my family back together, and you have been a blessing in our home. I do not understand how your mother could even think those things of you. She's a very lucky woman to have a daughter like you. She might not be proud, but I will promise you that Marie and I are."

Gabriella looked over at Jack, and smiled. As heartbroken as she was, Jack's words were comforting. They had never been close, or really ever spoken, and she always felt like he was mad at her. She had always thought he wasn't happy about her and Troy, but hearing him say those words changed everything. _This_ was Gabriella's family. And now she had to leave.

"Thank you, Jack. If you guys don't mind I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Sure thing, Gabriella. We will see you in the morning. Sleep well honey." Marie replied.

Gabriella picked up her plate and silverware, and left the dining room. The remaining three heard the dishes clank in the sink and then Gabriella's light footsteps up the stairs.

"Thank you, Dad." Troy said, looking at his father before gathering up his own plates.

"You don't have to thank me Troy. That was one of the worst things I've seen in a long time."

Troy and Marie both nodded. Isabella and Tony were not good people, which made Marie sad. Isabella had always been an amazing person. Troy collected the dishes from the other side of the table and also left the room.

Marie sat looking at her husband. She could see he was brewing up something in his head.

"Why are you thinking, love?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just really can't believe that. I could name a hundred parents who wished their child was half of a good person as Gabriella is. I just don't get it."

"Me neither."

They cleaned up the rest of the dishes and went to bed themselves. It had been a long and unpleasant night for all of them.

* * *

_alright, there you are!_

_review!!_

_-staywithmeBL_


	14. Lovers and Liars

_i'm sorry if this chapter is a little... intense. but- enjoy!! pleaes review :)_

* * *

**Best Of Me**

_Lovers and Liars_

The next morning Gabriella woke with a pounding headache. She lay there for several moments trying to remember if last night was a reality, or just some horrible dream. Her thoughts were shaken as her cell phone began to vibrate on her nightstand. Grabbing the phone and looking at the caller ID, she groaned.

"Hello?" She said groggily into the phone.

"Gabriella, I do not appreciate the way you acted last night. You made me and Tony look like fools."

"Well, Mom. I don't appreciate the way you've acted the last three months."

"Don't give me mouth young lady. I'm only calling you to let you know that we will be leaving for New York in two weeks. I expect you to have all your stuff packed and ready by then. I also wanted to let you know that we would really like it if you came and stayed with us a couple of nights here at the hotel."

"Mom, I'm not staying in a room with you and Tony. That's weird, and just uncomfortable for everyone. Besides, I would like to spend as much time with the Boltons as I can before I have to leave."

"Well Gabby baby. I rented two rooms. One for me and Tony, and then an adjoining room for you. And as for the other matter. I am your mother and you will do as I say. I'm not very fond of you spending all that time with Troy, especially sleeping in the same house. You're teenagers. Marie and Jack should be smarter than than that. Please come down and stay with us."

Gabriella sighed. She wasn't going to get past this. "I will come and stay with you Monday night. How does that sound?"

"That's better. Would you like to have lunch today?"

"I'm sorry Mom, I'm busy today." Gabriella said and then hung up the phone.

* * *

Two days later, Gabriella walked out of East High with Troy and all of her friends. She had shared few details about what had happened over the weekend, but told them all she had important news for them all. So the gang had decided to grab a bite to eat after school.

Gabriella put her books on the backseat, and settled herself into the front seat of Troy's car.

Several minutes later, they pulled into the local Wendy's.

Inside, Gabriella was growing more and more nervous. She had never really had this many friends at her previous schools, so it was never a big deal when she moved away. She wasn't even sure how she would tell them all.

"So what's the important news?" Sharpay asked, cutting straight to the point. "You guys didn't go get married on us or something did you?"

They all laughed at this. "No," Gabriella started. "But my Mom did."

"What?"

"My Mom came back early, and she got married awhile ago. And now I have to move." _There, it was out._ She sighed.

"WHAT?" The group exclaimed.

"Gabby, you're moving?" Taylor asked, her voice weak. "You can't be moving!"

"I am. And in two weeks." Gabriella said, her eyes down at her food. She hated this.

"So your mom got married without you even knowing?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"This is worse than the soap operas!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Is there anything you can do?" Chad asked. "Is there anyway you can arrange to stay with the Boltons?"

Troy shook his head. "My parents don't have any legal attachments to Gabriella. They're just her godparents. Ms. Montez, I mean, Mrs. Masters, just trusted my parents with Gabriella while she was out of the country."

"And my Mom is pretty set on me going back with her."

The group continued to talk. Troy and Gabriella's friends kept deviating plans to allow Gabriella to stay, but they all knew that she would be gone in two weeks.

* * *

"So you're coming to stay with us tonight?" Isabella said into the phone. She was excited about getting to start being a 'family' again.

"Yes. Troy's taking me to see a movie, and then is dropping me off at the hotel. Just leave me a card at the front desk."

"I was hoping you'd actually get to spend some time with me and Tony."

"Don't push me Mom. I'm staying with you tonight. We can spend time together tomorrow."

"Okay." Isabella said sadly. "There will be a card waiting for you at the desk."

"Thank you." Gabriella hung up the phone.

* * *

"Gabriella are you sure you don't want me to come stay with you?" Troy said. They were sitting in his car in front of the hotel. "My mom was totally fine with it."

"I'm okay Troy. I should probably do this alone anyways. But thank you. I'll call you a little later."

"Okay, but if you need anything at all, please let me know."

"I will. Thank you."

"I love you Brie."

"I love you too."

Gabriella turned to walk into the hotel, smiling. He could still give her butterflies. She walked up tot he front desk.

"Hi, my name is Gabriella Montez. There should be a card waiting for me."

She watched as the receptionist typed away at their computer.

"Ah, yes. Here you are Miss Montez."

* * *

Two hours later Gabriella flipped through the channels on her TV. Why was there never anything good on TV anymore?

She pulled her blanket up around her arms, and looked over at the clock. It was almost midnight. She took a drink of her juice and set it back on the stand beside her. She was startled when she heard a noise coming from the far end of the room.

"Mom?" She whispered to the approaching figure. It was dark in the room, and Gabriella couldn't quite make out who was coming from the door. As the figure approached her, the TV lit up his face, and she saw it was Tony. Before she could let out a scream, he jumped on the bed and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this Gabriella? You really are a prize." He said pulling the blankets down. He situated his position so that he was sitting on top of her. She squirmed underneath of him, trying to free herself. She bit deep into his hand, hoping he'd lift it. He pushed his hand harder on her face.

"You know, the fight just makes it more worth it my dear." He bent down and licked her neck. She could smell his hot breath that reeked of alcohol. This wasn't happening to her. She gave a hopeful look towards the front of the room.

"There's no one coming for you. You're all mine. And I am going to enjoy this. I just hope that punk hasn't tainted you." He reached in his pocket and pulled out some duct tape and placed a piece over her mouth. He then pulled her shirt up over her arms, leaving her in her bra.

Gabriella did they only thing she knew she could do. She prayed. She felt Tony begin to pull down her pants. She began to sob as she felt his hands all over her. _Please God._ She closed her eyes tight.

And then she heard a loud crack and Tony was suddenly off of her. She looked up and saw Troy, standing in a only a towel. He had pulled Tony off of her, and Tony was now lying unconscious on the floor.

* * *

-_An hour before-_

Troy was just about to pull out of the hotel parking lot when his cell phone began to ring. He smiled. "Why hello there. Did you miss me?"

"Don't go Troy." She said out of breath.

He looked over at saw that Gabriella was running across the parking lot. He rolled down his window as she neared the car.

"Troy, please stay with me tonight. I don't want to be alone here."

Troy smiled as she looked at her. She really was beautiful. And she looked so innocent standing there outside his car. "Let me park my car. You want to meet me inside?"

She nodded and quickly ran inside. Troy followed a few moments later, and they made their way to her room.

After getting everything settled, they lay on the bed watching TV. Gabriella's head was on Troy's lap who was sitting upright against the bed.

"You know what I want?" She said, turning so that she was looking up at him.

"What's that?"

"Breakfast. I want some pancakes." She quickly got off the bed and picked up the hotel phone.

"Brie, what are you doing?"

"Yes, this is room 113. We'd like two orders of pancakes, extra syrup. Some orange juice, sausage, scrambled eggs. Uh, some toast, milk. Yeah. I think that'll about cover it. Thank you."

Troy laughed as she hung up the phone. "You're crazy you know that?"

"Yeah. But you know you love me."

"Yes, this is also true."

They both laughed. Gabriella crawled back into bed cuddling up close to Troy as they waited for the room service to arrive. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Troy said. He walked over to the door, and pulled in the cart of food. He tipped the boy who had brought the food and closed the door behind him. He pulled the cart over to the bed, setting a plate of pancakes in front Gabriella. She gave him a devilish grin before digging in. Troy carefully sat on the bed next to her, his own plate in front of him.

"I have to give you credit. This definitely hits the spot."

"Yeah." She said, looking over at him. "I think I know a way it could be better."

"Oh really?" he asked, sticking a fork filled with eggs into his mouth.

"Mmmhmm." She poured syrup onto her hand and before he could back away, wiped it across his face.

"Hey!" He said in surprise. Gabriella laughed as she leaned in and kissed his syrup covered cheek.

"Yes, it definitely tastes better this way." She moved his tray and pushed him back, moving herself on top of him and kissed him softly on the lips. Moments later the two were in a heated make out session.

"Whoa." Troy said in a husky voice. "I should probably take a shower."

Gabriella smiled. "Okay, I'm going to clean this up and get ready for bed."

"Okay. I'll see you soon." He leaned in to give her a kiss, and then walked to the bathroom.

* * *

Troy looked down at the body on the floor. "Brie. Call the police."

"No."

"What?" He looked at her bewildered.

"I can use this Troy. My mom doesn't want Tony in jail, and with you and me as witnesses he has no choice. I can tell her to leave and never come back. I could stay here with you."

Troy wasn't so sure about this. "But he could call the cops on me, Brie. I knocked him unconscious."

"Why would he do that? It'll only open the cops up to what he did. He's smarter than that. Troy, I could use this. I could stay with here with you and your parents."

"Let's get your stuff. I'm taking you home. We need to tell my parents about this."

Gabriella nodded, and gathered her stuff.

* * *

_there you go. review your little hearts out :)_


	15. I Need You

_Okay, here's the next chapter. i hope it's good. please review :)_

* * *

**Best of Me**

_I Need You_

"Dad! Mom!" Troy shouted as he burst through the front door of his house with Gabriella in tow behind him. "Mom! Dad! Come downstairs now!"

He looked over at Gabriella. As soon as they got into his car after leaving the hotel she entered a state of shock and Troy knew the reality of what had just happened to her had sunken in. Troy, on the other hand, was outraged. He had tried to calm himself down and keep a straight head, but the vision of Gabriella pinned down by Tony kept flashing through his mind, and that was enough to send him over the edge.

"Troy, for Pete's sake. It's almost one in the morning! What are you doing?" Jack Bolton asked from the top of the stairs.

"Is everything alright?" Marie asked from behind him. She looked down at her son who was wild with rage. "Troy, what happened?"

Troy looked at Gabriella, and then back at his parents. "Tony attacked Gabriella tonight."

"What?" His father asked, a hint of anger and shock in his voice. His parents both stepped down the stairs and the four moved into the living room that was adjacent to where they were standing.

"I'm not sure what all happened. I was in the shower, but when I came out he was on top of her on the bed. So I pulled him off, and hit a few times, knocking him unconscious."

"Gabriella." Jack said with a firm voice. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Gabriella slowly raised her head. Troy's heart broke when he looked over at her. She looked like she has just completely given up. There were tears in here eyes, but they carried a dazed look that worried Troy.

"Brie." He said reaching over to grab her hand. Gabriella immediately pulled it away, scared of his touch. Troy tried to hide the hurt and surprise that came from her action. He knew it wouldn't help her feel safer in the slightest. "Gabriella, I promise you I will not hurt you. You have to talk to my dad. Please."

Gabriella looked away from Troy and over at Jack. "I was watching TV, and I heard the door creak. So I looked over and saw someone but couldn't make out the figure. I thought it was my mom. She had made a big deal about me not spending time with her, so I thought that it was her. But by the time I could figure out who it was, it was too late. He-he-he jumped on the bed and pinned me down, covering my mouth so I couldn't scream." Gabriella was shaking as she continued to talk, her knuckles white from the grip on the edge of the couch. "And h-h-he removed my shirt and pants, and put duct tape on my mouth. And that's right about when Troy came out of the shower."

"Thank you, Gabriella. Ypu're doing great." Jack said with a caring voice. He knew that right now she needed all the support she could get. He couldn't even imagine what she was feeling right now.

Gabriella turned her body and laid down on the couch, falling back into her state of shock. She placed her feet at the end where Troy was sitting, her head resting on the arm of the couch. Troy wanted so badly to take her in his arms and make everything alright, but he wasn't sure if she wanted that. She was scared of his touch, of any man's touch.

"Okay, so we're looking at attempted rape and defilement." Jack said, looking over at Marie. He had gone to two years at the police academy before switching to education at the local college. "We have to call the cops and file a report."

"NO!" Gabriella yelled, her body shaking.

"Gabriella, we can't let him get away with what he did to you."

"We could use this though. I could stay here and never have to see him or my mother again."

"Gabriella." Marie started. "I know that your mother loves you very much. I know she hasn't been the greatest of parents lately, but she does love you. You have to trust that she will side with you on this. As a parent, I know that my child comes first."

Gabriella knew that Marie was wrong. Her mother would hold this against her. Tony had changed her into a horrible person, and Gabriella was scared that the mother she used to know was gone forever.

Jack noticed that Gabriella wasn't giving in to the thought of telling the cops, and didn't believe anything that Marie had just said. "What if we did let him go, and blackmailed them into leaving here and you with us? But what if something happened to your mom? What if we let him go and he did something to her? Could you live with that Gabriella?"

Gabriella thought for a few moments on this. No, she couldn't live with that. "Okay. Call the police."

* * *

A half hour later or so, there was a knock at the door. Jack quickly made his way over to the door, and opened it. Two rather tall men stood there dressed in uniform.

"Hello, sir." The one extended his hand to Jack. "I'm Officer Mike Reynolds, and this is Officer Will Bennington. We got a call."

Jack shook hands with the second officer and nodded his head. "Jack Bolton. Yes, a friend of ours, who is staying with uss, was almost raped tonight. She's in the living room. Just follow me."

The two officers nodded and followed Jack into the living room. "This is my wife Maire, my son Troy, and this is Gabriella."

"Would you Officers like something to drink? I have some lemonade, iced tea, water?"

"Thank you ma'am." Officer Reynolds said. "I think tea will be fine." He glanced over at his partner who nodded in agreement. Marie made her way out of the room and into the kitchen.

Officer Reynolds hated this part of his job. Even if Jack hadn't of told him what had happened, Gabriella showed all signs of a recent, rape or almost rape victim. Her eyes had glazed over, but he could see the fear in them. He had come to recognize that look all too well with his job.

"Can you please tell me first, what is your family's relationship to Gabriella, Mr. Bolton?" The officer looked over at Troy after he finished this question. This boy really cared about Gabriella.

"My wife and I are her godparents. Her mother was out of the country for the last several months on business, so we've been watching over her."

"Okay, thank you. Gabriella?" He said with the kindest voice he could muster up.

The girl merely looked at him, acknowledging that he had addressed him.

"I need to get a description of the perpetrator, so we can find whoever it was that did this to you."

"You don't need a description." She said flatly.

Officer Reynolds looked confused. He looked over at Jack for answers, but it was Troy who spoke up.

"We were supposed to stay the night with her mother over at the hotel in town. I had gone in to take a shower while Gabriella was watching TV. When I came out he was on top of her on the bed. We left there and came here."

"Who is he, Gabriella? Your father?" Officer Reynolds was glad that Troy was there as a first hand witness. That would raise the chances of eliminating a full blown out trial, and just sending this prick to prison. Marie came back into the room with a tray of drinks, handing one to each of the officers and to the other three people in the room. The officers both nodded their heads in thanks.

"He will never be my father."

Officer Reynolds looked over to Troy again, hoping he could elaborate on this.

"Her mother's husband, Antonio Masters." Troy said.

"And you are both positive this is who it was."

"He was on top of me! Looking me in the eyes!" Gabriella yelled. Troy tried again to comfort her from which she pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I just have to get this for the record. Troy?"

"It was him. After I got out of the shower and saw him on her, I pulled him off and hit him a few times. He was unconscious when we left."

"Okay. Bennington," he said to the officer at the other end of the room. "Call the dispatch, send a team to the hotel. What room was he staying in?" He asked Troy.

"We were in 113, so I believe they were in 111."

"Okay, send a team to 111, 112, 114, and 115. Find Antonio Masters and have him arrested for attempted rape and defilement."

Officer Bennington nodded, and left the room.

"Well, we need Gabriella and Troy to make a formal statement. Written or verbal to take with us. He handed each of them a sheet of paper and a pen.

Gabriella furiously began to write on the paper. She wasn't going to leave anything out. Now that they had all brought this on themselves, she needed Tony to be arrested. Otherwise, her life would become a living hell.

Troy also began to write his statement on the paper. As soon as he finished he noticed Gabriella was still writing away. He signed the bottom of the sheet and handed it to the officer. Several minutes later, Gabriella did the same.

The officer put the statements away in his briefcase and stood up. "Thank you. We'll give you a call in the morning with more details. You all should go and get some sleep."

Jack followed the officers out of the room.

"I think I'm going upstairs to bed." Gabriella said quietly.

"Yeah, I think I will too." Troy said. They both stood, Troy keeping his distance from Gabriella.

"Goodnight Marie."

"Goodnight Mom. I'll see you first thing tomorrow." Troy said and bent down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. The two teenagers walked up the stairs and stopped in front of their rooms.

"I'm sorry Troy."

"Why are you sorry Brie? You have no reason to be sorry."

"I'm just so scared. I'm sorry, Troy. I'm scared of you." She downcast her eyes.

"Gabriella, don't be sorry for anything. What that asshole did to you wasn't right, and you have every reason to be scared. I understand. I just hope that you can come back to me soon. Now, if you need anything at all tonight, just let me know." He picked up her hand, and gently kissed it. "Goodnight Brie."

"Goodnight Troy." She turned and went into her room.

Troy followed suit. He changed for bed- he had thrown on the syrup covered clothes when the left the hotel and was looking forward to his clean and comfortable clothes. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and slipped under his covers. As tired as he was, he knew sleep wasn't going to be coming to him tonight. He was still furious, and now worried about Gabriella. He just prayed she was alright, and everything would be alright.

He lay there for what seemed forever. He was worried about what would happen after all of this. Would Tony go to jail? What if he didn't? What would become of Gabriella? What would Isabella's reaction to all of this be?

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a slight tapping at his door. Before he could respond, the door creaked open and a small figure stood in the doorway and walked over to his bed. Gabriella laid down on his bed, getting under the covers and scooting closer to Troy.

"I need you." Was all she said. Troy let out the breath he was holding, and pulled her close to him, keeping his arms tightly around her. He placed a kiss on her forehead and laid back down on the pillow. His heart was elated. Even though he understood that what she had been through tonight was horrible and why she acted the way she did, it hurt for her to not want to touch him, or come to him for comfort. It hurt him that she was scared of him. He felt Gabriella's grip on him grow tighter. Several moments later, they were both asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Troy woke with Gabriella still fast asleep next to him. He thought about leaving her there, but didn't want her to wake and find him gone, and get scared again. So he softly kissed her hand, and whispered her name.

"Gabriella? It's time to wake up."

Gabriella stirred, and brought her hands to her eyes. "Troy?" She said her voice hoarse.

"The one and only." Troy said. Gabriella smiled causing Troy's heart to do a flip.

"Good morning." She said quietly, sitting up. "What time is it?"

Troy grabbed his cell phone and looked at the screen. "It's almost noon."

"Wow. I don't think I've slept in this long for quite some time. You must just be that comfortable."

"Well, I'm at your service whenever you need me then. Troy the big comfortable pillow."

She laughed at him. "Troy, we slept in through the first half classes."

"Oh, what's one day? It's almost summer anyways, nothing too important is going on. And besides, I get to play hookey with _you_." He said pulling her on his lap.

They both heard a knock at the door downstairs.

"That must be the police." She said, her happy expression falling. She got out of bed, and wrapped Troy's blanket around herself. She started to walk away when she turned and held out her hand.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"Of course I am." Troy grabbed her hand. They both heard shouting, and quickly made their way down the stairs. They were both surprised to see Isabella standing in the foyer.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Jack? My husband was arrested last night. _Arrested_."

Jack didn't say anything. His expression was stone cold. He wasn't going to give this woman anything.

Isabella noticed the approaching figures and pulled up her hand to slap Gabriella across the face. Her hand, however, was caught by Troy.

"Don't touch her." He said through gritted teeth.

Isabella yanked her arm away from him. "You little slut. Why did you do that? Why did you lie? You know Tony would never do anything like that. You were just jealous. Jealous that I found someone besides you in my life. You're pathetic, Gabriella. And now my love faces jail. Do you feel guilty at all? You little slut."

Gabriella didn't respond. She didn't cry. She just glared at the woman who was supposed to be her mother.

"Isabella, get out of my house." Marie Bolton said from behind them, her hands in oven mits placed on her waist. She had been in the kitchen making breakfast when she heard all the commotion.

Isabella stormed out of the room and out of the house. They all heard the phone ring and stared at each other before Jack finally answered it.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is Jack." Jack stood there for a couple moments, his back turned to the other three.

"Okay. Yes, thank you very much Officer. I will let her know. Thank you again."

He hung up the phone, and turned around. "Apparently this isn't the first claim on Tony. He's been accused several times, just never convicted. He went in front of a judge this morning. After going over your statements, and Tony's black eye to boot," he smiled over at his son, "Tony was sentenced to twenty five years in prison."

Troy pulled Gabriella into a hug, and kissed her forehead.

"Thank God."_

* * *

_

_i tried to do some research on rape and stuff for punishment and all that, plus my sister is a lawyer so i tried to talk to her too. so i hope it's alright. anyways. there you are. review, review, review!_


	16. How Far We've Come

_okay, so just get mad at me now for not giving you any warning what so ever. but this is the last chapter of the story. i'm debating working on a sequel for it, but who knows. please review! i hope you like it!_**

* * *

**

**Best Of Me**

_How Far We've Come  
_

Troy sat on his bed looking down at a picture of him and Gabriella at the beach. They were both soaking wet, from their dripping hair to their damp swimsuits. Gabriella was leaning against Troy's chest, his arms wrapped around her tight. He smiled as he remembered how cold they had been when Taylor took the picture. The sun had begun to set, putting a chill in the air around them. It was one of the best nights of the summer. He and Gabriella, along with their closest friends, had decided to camp out on the beach hi honor of the end of summer. He put the photo back on his night stand, and stood up to straighten his tie.

It had been a year since Gabriella's mother had come back with Tony. A year since Gabriella stood in court testifying against her step-father. A year since Gabriella had emancipated herself from her mother, and making the Bolton's house her permanent residence.

Isabella left shortly after the trial ended. Troy knew that she hadn't even tried to make contact with Gabriella in the last year. He knew Gabriella missed her mother - anyone would, given what she had been through. But they made a decision a year ago to put all of the past behind them, and start over together. Troy still thought about that point in time a lot, though. He knew that he would never be able to forget the fear in Gabriella's eyes the night Tony attacked her. He had made a silent vow that night he would do everything he possibly could to make Gabriella safe and happy. Since that night, he got the chance to see Gabriella grow from that scared girl into an amazing and confident person who he was falling more and more in love with day as each day passed.

He was almost afraid of how much he loved her. It had been a year since they had been officially dating, and he still trembled at her touch. She was the most beautiful person Troy had ever met, and it scared him to think that he could lose her one day. He wasn't sure what he would do if Gabriella left him.

Troy shook those thoughts from his head. Today was an important day and he wouldn't let fear or anxieties bring him down.

He stepped out into the hall and knocked on the door across from his. He waited patiently outside her door for several minutes before he heard the knob begin to turn. His breath hitched as took in the sight in front of him. Gabriella stood in the doorway in a white slowing summer dress, her hair down in soft curls. Troy couldn't think of a time where she looked more beautiful.

"You look amazing, Brie." He said, finally being able to breathe.

"Why thank you. You look pretty dashing yourself." She responded in a sweet voice.

"You ready to go?" He asked holding out his arm for her to take.

"One sec." She said walking back into her room, coming back out with her white graduation cap on her head, and the gown hanging off her arm.

'Now I am." She smiled, taking his arm.

* * *

Troy listened as Gabriella perfectly addressed the class in her speech as Salutatorian. He already knew for the most part what she was going to say. He had helped her write the first part of the speech, but she wrote the last section on her own so she could add her thank you's and closing remarks.

_"And lastly, I'd like to thank my friends and family. Jack and Marie, I cannot even begin __to thank you two. You 're the closest thing to parents I have and I love you both very much. Chad, Zeke, Jason, Shar, Kelsi, Ryan. You are the best friends a girl can ask for. Thank you for all the memories over this past year. Tay, I don't think I can even say you're my friend. Over the last year we've become like sisters, and I hope we always stay that way. And your speech had better not be better than mine." _Gabriella laughed at this_, "And Troy. I don't even know how to begin to thank you, Through thick and thin, __you've always been there, and I hope you know that I love you more than anything in this __world." _Gabriella paused for a moment as she blinked away tears in her eyes. _"My __fellow Wildcats of 2008, these are our last moments as high schoolers. But whatever may happen in the years to come, just remember we 're all in this together and you'll always __have a family here in the halls of East High. I wish you all the best of luck. __Congratulations guys!"_

Gabriella stepped off the stage and made her way back to her seat in the first row of the auditorium. She watched as her best friend took the stage and began her speech.

* * *

One by one, the students of East High were called onto the stage and presented with their diplomas.

_"Michael Ezekiel Baylor." _

_"Troy Alexander Bolton." _

_"Jason Matthew Cross." _

_"Chad Andrew Danforth." _

_"Ryan Jameson Evans"_

"Sharpay Dorene Evans."

"Taylor Adrienna McKessie."

"Gabriella Anne Montez." 

_"Kelsi Michelle Neilson."_

Troy waited as the last of the students were called across the stage, and then stood up and turned around to face the rest of his students. The students watching him copied their class president as he moved his tassel across the front of his cap. They all took off their hats in unison and threw them in the air.

* * *

Troy's cheeks hurt from all the smiling and pictures his parents were taking. He swore they must have taken a hundred of just him alone.

"Last one, Mom." He said through his teeth as his mom snapped a picture of him, Gabriella, Chad and Taylor.

"Oh stop your whining. I only get one chance to do this." She said as she snapped another picture.

"And I think you've got enough pictures Marie." Jack Bolton said putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"But Jack, I only-"

"I know, but I think it's time we let them go. I think they have a party waiting for them somewhere."

Troy gave his father a look of thanks as he began to unbutton his gown,

"Well, okay." Marie said putting her camera back in its bag. She walked over to where Troy and Gabriella were standing and pulled them both into a hug. "I just want you both to know I'm so proud of you."

Troy looked over at Gabriella over his mother's shoulder and rolled his eyes. Gabriella fought to hold back a laugh.

"Thank you Marie. That means a lot to me."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Now," Marie said pulling back from the hug. "You two go have fun."

"Okay, we'll see you either later or tomorrow or something. Most likely tomorrow." Troy said putting his arm around Gabriella as they both turned to walk away.

"Bye guys."

"Bye Marie. Bye Jack."

Troy's parents both said goodbye and watched as they began to walk away,

"Just don't have _too _much fun!" Marie Bolton called after them with the tears evident in her voice.

"They'll be fine, love." Jack said putting his arm around her and pulling her close. "I know. I don't doubt that. I just can't believe this day actually came."

* * *

Troy sat on his sleeping bag next to the campfire he and Chad had built not too long ago. The entire graduating class had rented spots to camp and he was sharing a spot with Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan, Alese (Ryan's girlfriend), Kelsi, and Jason. Directly behind they had set up five tents for each of the couples to sleep in if they wanted to stay.

Gabriella sat in-between his legs, the glow of the fire illuminating her face. Troy moved his arms so that his arms were lying across her stomach, and he pulled her closer to him -if that was even possible, Gabriella looked up at him and smiled before looking back at the fire.

Looking around at his friends, Troy knew how lucky he really was. He had the best friends in the world and the most amazing girlfriend any guy was lucky to have. And the best part was they would all head off in the fall to the University of Albuquerque _together._

"Well, I think we're headed to bed." Ryan said as he and Alese stood up.

"Now remember." Chad said with a smirk and wiggling his eyebrows. "We're all right next to you, so we can hear _everything."_

"Gross Chad. Brother. Stop." Sharpay said disgusted causing everyone around her to laugh.

"Actually I think I'm headed to bed as well." Taylor said getting up and walking over to her tent. Chad followed her a few moments later.

"Goodnight guys!" Gabriella called out. She was responded with a few muffled goodnights.

The remaining six of them around the fire decided to turn in as well, and each made their way to their own tent.

Once Gabriella was inside their tent, she lay down next to Troy who instinctively put his arms around her and lay his chin on her shoulder. Neither Bolton parented wanted to know how many nights in the last year Gabriella or Troy had snuck across the hallway into the other's room.

"I love you Brie." He whispered softly into her ear.

Gabriella shivered at his breath against her skin. "I love you too Troy."

"No, like I really love you." Troy said with a weak voice.

Gabriella turned around worried at the tone in Troy's voice, "Troy, are you okay?"

"I just don't want to ever lose you."

"You won't ever lose me Troy. I promise you." Gabriella said and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Marry me." Troy said after returning the kiss.

"What?" Gabriella responded in pure shock.

"Marry me Brie. Don't tell me we're too young or we have to think about college next year. I can't think of any reason why we shouldn't get married. I love you, and I know I'll always love you. We're moving into an apartment together this fall for school so we'll already be living together. It just makes sense. I can't live without you, Brie, I want you by my side forever, and I want forever to start now. I want to marry you."

Troy stared down at her as best he could in the dark tent. He could tell she was really thinking about this. His stomach began to twist in knots more and more the longer she waited to respond.

"Oh for God's sake Gabby. Just say yes already!" Taylor yelled from the tent next door. Laughter was heard from the other tents around them causing Troy and Gabriella to laugh too.

"So what do you say?" Troy asked as he pulled her closer to him.

"Yes!" She squealed and kissed his lips. They heard their friends respond in loud cheers, whooping, and hollering.

"I don't have a ring." Troy said laughing. "This was kind of an impulsive thing."

"I don't care. I love you and that's all I need."

"Well, you got to have something," Troy said as he slipped his Wildcat championship ring on to her finger. "I love you Gabriella Anne Montez."

"And I love you Troy Alexander Bolton. Always and forever."

* * *

FIN

_Please Review!! Let me know if you want a sequel!_


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